


Far More Beautiful than the Sun

by camra01



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Cuddling & Snuggling, Even More Fluff, Everyone being a dork, Fluff, French Kissing, Hair, Kissing, Look forward to it, M/M, Making Out, Merman sex, Minor Character Deaths, Sharks, bonus at the end, everyone is a mer, for a bonus, for the good of the world, mer! Hinata, mer! Kageyama, merman au, more of the fluff, probably, seriously, super hawt sex scene at end, the best sex scene i have ever written, tragic backstories
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-08
Updated: 2016-09-08
Packaged: 2018-08-13 22:07:26
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 28,418
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7987882
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/camra01/pseuds/camra01
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After his father died in a tragic accident, Prince Kageyama Tobio has been afraid of going to the surface. Even though he needs to go up there eventually, he cannot do it. His mother and childhood friends, Suga and Daichi, worry about him endlessly. Kageyama stays inside the castle, depressed and lonely. He doesn't believe in the beauty of the surface anymore, even the pull of the sun can't get him to go up there. Another thing he doesn't believe in anymore is the rumor of brightly colored mers. Mers were dark to blend in with their surroundings, so there was no way that something magical like a bright colored mer could exist.</p><p>One day, Kageyama's mother tells him that she has found him a suitable mate, hoping to find love for her lonely son. He agrees to at least meet with them, only to be stunned when a beautiful, orange merman is presented to him. Hinata Shouyou is a very rare orange mer who has been alone since his family was killed by a shark. He was often hunted by other mer clans until a kindly one took him in. To ensure his safety, he will become the mate to the prince of the strongest clan.</p><p>Can Hinata help Kageyama overcome his fear of the surface? And can the two fall in love during their time together?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Far More Beautiful than the Sun

Prince Kageyama Tobio was afraid of the surface. He had always heard of terrible things happening near or at the surface, and that had always made him wary of going up there. But, he had also heard wonderful things about the surface. He heard other merpeople raving about the sun and the clouds and the sandy beaches and the plants and animals that they didn’t have in the ocean. Sugawara Koushi, who was in training to become a teacher, had told Kageyama many stories of the surface. Suga went up there often to study the creatures and the weather and other such things. He relayed all of his information to the rapt Kageyama and his body guard, Daichi. All three were still quite young and were impressed by all that the surface had to offer. 

One day, when Kageyama was slightly older, but still young by merpeople standards, the prince decided that he wanted to have a look at the surface himself. His mother was in a very important meeting and his father was checking on the guard. So, Kageyama knew that he had time to slip away and come back before anyone noticed he was missing.

What he didn’t notice though, was a slim silver merman flit away after spotting the prince swimming up towards the surface. 

Kageyama swam up farther and farther until he finally saw the surface. He was overly excited and rushed towards it, bursting through the waves. He blinked several times, blinded by what he assumed was the sun. It was so bright and warm and so much better than what Suga had described. His entire body felt like it was being enveloped by the pleasant heat. 

And the colors! There were so many new colors to behold! The sky was a soft blue with wispy clouds floating slowly past. Kageyama jumped when he heard loud cawing and some seagulls swooped down near him. He had heard of birds from Suga, but had never seen them. Kageyama saw many more animals that he had heard about, but had never seen since he lived deep in the ocean. 

His dark blue tail twitched happily and he jumped in and out of the waves, laughing. Why had he been so afraid of the surface all this time? It didn’t seem bad at all! The sun’s warmth was so encompassing and the breeze gently brushed his hair back and tickled the iridescent scales at the corners of his eyes. This was the best he had ever felt.

And that was totally what he believed as he was sunning himself on a cluster of rocks when he saw a shape in the distance, just barely visible on the horizon. Kageyama cupped his hands over his eyes, his webbed fingers helping block out the sun so that he could see.

“What’s that?” Kageyama asked himself, sitting up higher on the rocks, his tail curling up behind him as he scooted up farther. His eyes widened when he realized what it was. Suga and Daichi and even his parents had warned him of the approaching object and to steer clear of them if he ever saw any. 

There was a huge ship barreling down on him. The men on board hadn’t noticed the young merman peering out of the rocks, but it was just a matter of time. Kageyama wondered if he could slip back into the water without any of the people noticing him. He slowly moved backwards, his tail sliding against the rocks. His tail had just hit the water when he felt a hand grab him. He jumped and looked behind him to see his father, the king, giving him an angry and a worried expression.

“Tobio, what are you doing up here? It’s dangerous!” he said softly, trying to tug Kageyama back into the water with him so that they could escape back to safety. Kageyama could tell that the ship and the men were making his father nervous. 

“I just wanted to see the sun,” Kageyama pouted slightly. His heart was pounding too quickly to sulk for long. He too was nervous now, feeding off of his father’s feelings. If his father, the king of their clan, was afraid, then these men must be something to be feared.

Both of them slipped back into the water and swam deeper.

“Tobio, that was a very foolish thing to do. You could’ve been hurt or killed! You need to watch out for ships when you’re at the surface, okay?” his father said, holding the young merman out at arm’s length.

“Okay,” Kageyama answered sullenly. 

“So, how was the sun?” his father asked, smiling and ruffling Kageyama’s hair.

“It was beau-” Kageyama started, but before he could finish, a harpoon slashed through the water and impaled his father through the stomach. Kageyama screamed in horror as blood seeped into the water all around them. “Noooo! Dad!”

His father coughed up blood, his hands going shakily to the harpoon stuck in his body. His father yelled out in pain when the rope to the harpoon was tugged, pulling him closer to the surface. Whoever had fired the harpoon was trying to drag his father to the surface!

Kageyama panicked and swam around and grabbed the back of the harpoon, pulling on it with all of his might. His tail thrashed around violently as he pulled and pulled and pulled. Finally, Kageyama’s father slumped forward, free from the harpoon. More blood was gushing from his wound. Kageyama didn’t know what to do!

“Dad, what do I do?” Kageyama cried, desperately putting his hands over the gaping hole in his father’s stomach. His father, once so strong, was now pale and shivering. He raised a blood-covered hand and cupped Kageyama’s boyish face, trying to memorize how his son looked. Kageyama gripped his hand back and found that his father’s strength was failing. “Dad, don’t go. What do I need to do?”

“T-the sun,” his father gasped, blood trickling out of his mouth. “Remember . . . it as. . . beau-beautiful.” After his father got out his weak sentence, his hand slid slowly down Kageyama’s face, smearing the youth with his blood. 

Kageyama felt his father go limp in his arms. He clutched at his body, sobbing and wailing into his father’s long black hair. 

Kageyama woke up and rubbed his temples. He had had that dream again. The one where his father had died. He still had it often, even though his dad had died years ago. Kageyama was now on the edge of blossoming into adulthood, where he would then stop aging and be young and beautiful for forever. Unless he was killed in a tragic accident like his father had been.

Kageyama let out a groan, deciding that he needed to get up and start his day. His mother ran their clan now with Kageyama’s help. They were actually the strongest mer clan in the ocean. His mother led them all with a just and fair hand and they had grown even larger.

Kageyama uncurled his tail and stretched out. His fins unfolded, spreading across the sandy floor. His tail was a dark, inky blue, just like his father’s had been. His mother was just a touch lighter. Most of the merpeople had dark colored tails to blend into their surroundings. He constantly saw merpeople with black, purple, blue, and green tails. The only exception were the silver merpeople, like Suga. They were designated the smartest of the merpeople and often became teachers or healers. They weren’t as common as the dark tailed merpeople, but they weren’t rare either. Kageyama had heard that there were rare breeds of merpeople out there who had brightly colored tails, such as pink, yellow, or orange. Kageyama used to believe that there were such merpeople out there, like he had used to believe that the surface was a magical place. But no more, for either of them. There weren’t brightly colored merpeople and the surface was a terrible place full of fear and dread.

Kageyama sat up, stretching his arms above his head. Then he finally lifted himself from the ocean floor and swam out of his room, brushing aside the seaweed curtains in his doorway. Kageyama yawned widely as he swam down the hallway, his webbed and taloned hand in front of his mouth. His long, black hair flowed loosely around him, moving with the gentle current. He loved wearing his hair down because he so rarely got to do it. As the prince, he had to uphold certain standards, and Kageyama’s mother insisted that Kageyama’s hair was always pristine and polished. Just last night at dinner, Kageyama’s hair had been piled on top of his head, held up by star fish. But since it was just him meeting his mother for breakfast and not a table full of mer dignitaries, then Kageyama could wear his hair down. 

“Good morning, Tobio,” Kageyama’s mother said as her son entered the room. She was reading a scroll, but set it down when Kageyama sat down next to her. “How did you sleep?”

“Fine,” Kageyama answered, prying open an oyster and eating the contents. 

“Hmmm, good,” she hummed, setting her elbows on the table and leaning forward slightly to study her son. After his father had died, Kageyama had changed drastically. He had been so outgoing, but now he was practically a recluse. He did most of his princely duties inside of the castle. Whenever he ventured out, he always had Daichi beside him. And he never, ever went close to the surface. He was still terrified of it to this day. As his mother, she wanted to shelter and protect him from the evil out there. But as the queen, she knew that Kageyama had to get out more and connect with the people and be strong and brave for them. He would also at some point have to face his fear of the surface.

“Do you think you’ll go out on today’s scouting mission?” she asked Kageyama, causing her son’s fist to tighten around a now-empty shell. 

“I-I don’t know,” Kageyama stuttered, staring down at his hands.

Kageyama’s mother clucked her tongue and reached out to grab her son’s chin so that she could look him in the eye. He had the same eyes as her, a dark and calming blue. But the rest of him looked exactly like his father. 

“I want to give you as much time as you need, Tobio, but. . .” she trailed off sadly, thinking of what would happen if she wasn’t around for her son anymore.

“I know, I’ll do better,” Kageyama answered.

“Good,” she grinned, flashing her pointy teeth. She leaned back in her seat, reaching for the scroll again. “Now, to my good news.” Kageyama glanced at her and then quickly away, trying to seem disinterested even though he was excited. His mother found it rather cute. “You’re about to become an adult and it’s time for you to think about who you’re going to mate with-” she started before she was interrupted by Kageyama’s groan of displeasure. 

“Mom, I don’t want a mate. Can’t I just. . . stay alone?” he asked.

“Most certainly not!” she quipped, chucking an empty oyster shell at her son playfully. In a more serious tone she said, “Tobio, as the prince, you need a mate to rule with and to have an heir with.”

“But you’ve been ruling by yourself for some time now and you’ve done a wonderful job,” Kageyama stated. He didn’t want a mate. What if he lost them like his mother had lost hers? She had cried for so long and he didn’t think that he could go through that again. 

“Thank you, but I want you to have somebody special,” she said. Her hands hovered over the scroll. “And I think I might’ve found that person for you. You’re going to be an adult soon so you should be courting someone, you know, like Daichi and Suga.”

Kageyama wrinkled his nose. Ever since Suga had become an adult, Daichi had been courting him like crazy. They were together whenever they could find the time. Sometimes Kageyama would find them curled up in a random part of the castle, just sleeping, their tails wrapped around each other in an intimate position. Kageyama found himself wanting something like that when he saw the two of them, but then he would remember how much pain his mother had been in and would change his mind.

Kageyama’s mother still saw the hesitance in her son’s eyes and she decided to pull out her last card. “Will you meet him, for me?”

Kageyama gave her a petulant look, knowing what she was doing. “Fine, I’ll meet him. But that’s it.”

***

Suga was swimming around anxiously, waiting to hear the news. He, just like Kageyama’s mother, wanted the prince to find someone special. Suga had often blamed himself for what had happened to the king. He had been the one to tell Kageyama about the wonders of the surface and he had also been the person to go inform the king that Kageyama was headed to the surface. He had felt guilty ever since. 

Daichi had often told him that it wasn’t his fault. He hadn’t been on the ship and he hadn’t fired the harpoon, but that didn’t help Suga at all. The only consolation Suga had was that he had saved Kageyama’s life, but that had caused the king to lose his. 

So, Suga was very interested in helping to find a mate for Kageyama. He wanted Kageyama to be happy above all. Suga himself had Daichi, the two of them still courting. They were going to have their mating ceremony soon to make it official. If Suga, who had basically sent the king to his death, could be happy, then Kageyama should be too. 

Which was why Suga was swimming in the entrance of the castle, pacing back and forth, waiting to hear from the queen. She had approached Suga two weeks ago, telling him that she might have found a suitable mate for Kageyama. Suga had tried to think of who in their clan it could be, but then the queen said that it was an outsider. That caused Suga to become worried. The queen was going to let the prince marry an outsider? But he knew that she must’ve had a good reason. 

“Suga, stop swimming around in circles. Now you’re making me nervous,” Daichi said from where he was perched, his thick black tail curled beneath him. Suga knew that he was actually nervous also. The three of them had been together forever and they knew what Kageyama was going through. It hurt Suga and Daichi to see Kageyama go from a boy full of wonder and excitement into the gloomy shut-in he was now.

“I know, I’m sorry. I just can’t keep still. I feel like I’ll explode if I don’t move,” Suga said, twisting his hands as he circled another lap. 

Just then, the queen swam through a curtain of seaweed, joining the two mermen in the entrance. She stopped before them and watched as the two held their breath, waiting for her response. She was glad that Kageyama had people who cared about him so much. 

She gave them a wide grin, “Tobio has agreed to meet him!”

Suga cheered happily, rushing to the queen and throwing his arms around her. He just couldn’t contain his excitement. The queen didn’t mind, wrapping her own arms around the silver merman. She thought of Suga and Daichi as her own sons also and loved them just as much as Kageyama.

Daichi let out his breath and swam to join the other two, ruffling Suga’s hair affectionately. “I’m glad. When will he arrive?”

“A week after Kageyama is an adult. The Nekoma group is bringing him,” the queen said. 

Suga clapped excitedly, “I’m so excited! I can’t wait to meet him!”

“I just hope that Tobio likes him,” the queen said, looking back at the entrance she had just come through.

***

A week after Kageyama’s birthday, an embassy from Nekoma arrived. Kageyama knew that his possible mate was with them and he was both nervous and excited. He wondered what type of merman Nekoma had brought for the prince of the most powerful mer clan. Kageyama gazed at himself in the mirror, brushing a few strands of hair into place and setting pearled ornaments at strategic locations. His mother always loved it when he wore pearls because they contrasted nicely with his black hair. Kageyama personally had never seen the appeal, but wore them to make his mother happy. Kageyama also put on his favorite necklace, one that had belonged to his father. Several, pure-white shells hung from the strand. Then Kageyama pushed some silver bangles past his hand and onto his wrist. Kageyama had found them one day while exploring a sunken boat. His eyes had caught onto their shine and before he knew it, he had picked them up. 

Kageyama heard his mother call out to him and he turned as she swam in. She smiled and swam over to him, tucking in a strand of hair that he had missed. “Pearls have always looked beautiful on you.” Kageyama gave her a timid look and she couldn’t help but hug him tightly. “I’m so proud of you for what you’re about to do. Please try your best.”

“I will. I know that I need to have a mate as the prince,” Kageyama said, getting up from the stool he had been perched on. He held out his arm for his mother to take. “Shall we go?” The queen smiled and took her son’s arm, the two heading off to the grand hall. 

They entered the hall to a copious amount of pomp and fanfare, the two swimming to their thrones at the end of the hall. Almost everyone in their clan was there to see who would be the future mate of their prince. Everyone was curiously peering around them, trying to get a sneak-peek of the merman. Kageyama’s eyes roved the crowd, thinking the same thing. Was his future mate already in the crowd?

His eyes snapped up to the entrance when another fanfare started. Kuroo, the prince of Nekoma swam in, his giant black tail swishing behind him. Following him was his mate, Kenma, his tail a monotone gray. Kenma looked incredibly bored and fixed everything with an unimpressed look. It looked like he would rather be taking a nap than introducing Kageyama’s mate. 

“Prince Kuroo, what a pleasant surprise!” the queen exclaimed. She had always enjoyed the company of Kuroo, since their two clans were on a good standing.

“You know that I love visiting Karasuno,” Kuroo said, flashing a charming smile. Kenma sighed next to him, already exhausted. This was way too much activity for him in one day.

“Well, we love having you visit, isn’t that right, Tobio?” the queen said, turning to her less-than enthusiastic son.

“Yeah, it’s great,” Kageyama said, eyes searching behind the two for his possible mate.

Kuroo saw his look and his smile widened. “It’s so wonderful to be held in such high-esteem by both of you. But we all know why I’m here.” He turned and gave a signal, causing more merpeople to swim inside. 

Everyone gasped when one merman in particular swam in. Nobody had ever seen anyone like him before. He was petite for someone his age, causing him to look younger than he really was. But what was striking about him was his color. His tail was a bright, flashing orange that caught every eye in the room. His long billowy hair was the same shade of orange and flowed loosely in the water. His eyes were a flashing gold. Even though the merman was trying to look intimidating and strong in front of a room full of strangers, Kageyama could tell that the other merman smiled and laughed a lot. He just had this energy that made Kageyama feel warm just by looking at him. It reminded him of something from his childhood. Something he was supposed to remember.

The merman stopped next to Kuroo and Kenma, his colors drowning everyone else out. Kageyama’s gaze was glued to him. He was so striking and beautiful that Kageyama couldn’t believe that he actually existed. He had heard that brightly colored merpeople existed, but he had never believed that, until now. 

“This is Hinata Shouyou and the merman we have picked to be your mate,” Kuroo said, gesturing to the orange merman beside him. 

When Kageyama heard his name he couldn’t believe it. He instantly knew what Hinata reminded him of: the sun. His name even meant the sun! He was so warm and bright and beautiful, just like the real sun. He practically shone in the midst of all of the dark colors. 

“See, isn’t Kageyama just as elegant and beautiful as we said?” Kuroo teased lightly, his black tail gently nudging Hinata’s orange one. Kageyama blushed, his gaze still glued to Hinata. Did Hinata think that he was elegant and beautiful?

Hinata’s eyes rose, his gold ones meeting blue ones. He blushed slightly and turned to Kuroo, whispering, but just loud enough for the queen and Kageyama to hear. “Kuroo, why do I have to do this? I want to stay with your clan.”

Kuroo let out a tired sigh, like he had heard this multiple times. “Hinata, you know you can’t. Every second you spend swimming out in the ocean is dangerous for you! You remember what happened to your family. The safest possibility for you is to marry into a royal family and Karasuno is the best choice. Also, you’re a very rare breed, so others will want to have you. Kageyama, though stiff, is very nice, once you get to know him.”

Kageyama narrowed his eyes at Kuroo. Is that really what Kuroo thought of him? He wasn’t wrong, but still. 

Hinata’s eyes raised again to meet Kageyama’s, giving the prince an appraising look. Kageyama wondered what had happened to his family as the two continued to stare at each other. Had Hinata gone through something similar to Kageyama? 

Hinata opened his mouth, but then shut it. “Okay, I guess you’re right.” 

A wide smile formed on Kuroo’s face. He patted Hinata’s back and then turned back to the queen and Kageyama. “So, what do you two say?”

The queen floated down to them, swimming around Hinata. “Well, you certainly are something to behold.” She gave the young merman a sunny smile. “But we won’t force you. We want you to stay here of your own volition. But, if you don’t mind, you could spend some time with us to help make up your mind.”

Hinata gave her a shocked look. “You’re. . . not going to force me to stay?”

The queen tittered, “Of course not! The strongest relationships form out of feelings, not by forcing them.”

“O-okay then,” Hinata stuttered, still taken-aback. After what had happened to his family, Hinata had been alone for several years. And before he had run into Kuroo and Kenma, many different clans had tried to force him to live with them, wanting to mate with him just because he was an orange merman. He had always hated his color and had wished that he was dark like everyone else. But he wasn’t, and he had to live with that. So, now it was weird that someone was giving him a choice with what to do with his life.

The queen stuck her hand out and Hinata tentatively grasped it. He gave her a tremulous smile and Kageyama gasped, seeing how it lit his entire face up. He really did look like the sun. 

Kageyama’s mother turned around, giving her son an exasperated look. “Tobio, get down here and meet Hinata. Honestly.”

Kageyama flushed and hopped off the throne, swimming down to them. Hinata was much smaller than he thought, but also much more beautiful up close. Kageyama could see gold tints in his tail and in the scales next to his eyes. Even his eyelashes were tinged in gold and made his eyes spark whenever he blinked. The fins of his tail looked delicate   
and wispy, like the clouds had on that day he had gone to the surface.

“Beautiful,” Kageyama whispered. Hinata blushed at the prince’s compliment while the queen giggled. Kuroo laughed too while Kenma just looked on. Kageyama also blushed when he realized that he had said that out loud. “Um, I-I mean. . . ugh.”

“You’ve made a wonderful first impression, Kageyama,” Kuroo cackled, wrapping an arm around Kageyama’s shoulder and tousling his hair, messing up the prince’s immaculate hairstyle. Kageyama frowned at him, trying to get his hair back into place.

Kageyama’s mother turned to the crowd, still ever the queen of Karasuno. She introduced Hinata to them and they all clapped fervently, probably more excited to see an orange merman than the fact that their prince might have a mate. 

After the crowd had dispersed, the queen turned back to the four young mermen. “Anyone up for snacks?” Kuroo cheered and dragged the passive Kenma with him. Kageyama gestured with his arm for Hinata to go first and the orange merman swam after Kuroo and Kenma, his mesmerizing tail cutting through the water gracefully. 

The five of them sat around a table, eating and chatting. Kuroo told the queen what was happening in Nekoma. Kenma talked quietly to Hinata while the orange merman answered back in an exuberant voice. 

“And I told Lev that sea anemones were dangerous and he totally didn’t believe me!” Hinata exclaimed, giggling as he remembered how many stings the other merman had had.

“Ah, so that’s what happened,” Kenma answered, moving his food around his plate.

“Yeah, Lev is so weird. Natsu did something like that when she was small,” Hinata said, his face growing visibly less bright.

“Who’s Natsu?” Kageyama asked, wondering why she made Hinata look so sad. 

“My sister,” Hinata answered softly.

“Is she going to stay with us also?” Kageyama asked, wondering if she was already at the castle somewhere.

Hinata gave Kageyama a sad smile, “No, she won’t. She’s. . . gone. Along with my parents.”

Kageyama frowned and scooted closer to the orange merman. He knew how it felt to lose a precious family member, but he couldn’t even imagine losing his whole family. Kageyama didn’t say anything. He had hated when people had told him that they were sorry for his loss because he felt like they really didn’t understand. Instead, Kageyama gently brushed his tail against Hinata’s, causing the orange merman to jump slightly. But then he relaxed and pressed his tail against the dark blue one, enjoying the feeling of somebody being against him.

“How did it happen?” Kageyama asked quietly, scooting closer so that it was just the two of them. Their hips were almost touching.

Hinata glanced at him and bit his lip. “We were just going out for a swim one day. Natsu was still little and my mom had her. I wanted to swim out farther than normal and that’s when. . .” Hinata trailed off, his eyes misty.

“Hinata,” Kenma said, wrapping an arm around Hinata’s slender shoulders. “Do you want me to finish?”

“N-no, I’m okay,” Hinata said, his voice trembling. Kageyama felt his tail subconsciously wrapping itself tighter against Hinata’s. He wanted to comfort him also. Hinata wiped his eyes quickly and continued, “There was a shark and well, we’re pretty easy to spot. It got my dad first, and then my mom. Natsu had disappeared before I could get there. Before I knew it, they were all gone. If-if I hadn’t had wanted to swim out farther. . .”

“Hinata, don’t say that. It’s not your fault,” Kuroo said. Nekoma’s prince and Karasuno’s queen had started to listen in on their conversation.

“Oh, sweetie,” Kageyama’s mother said, reaching across the table and grasping Hinata’s hand tightly. 

“We’re your family now,” Kenma said. “Nekoma and Karasuno.”

Hinata smiled and leaned into Kenma’s hold. “It’s a big family.”

***

Two weeks after Kuroo and Kenma had left, Karasuno’s clan was still agog whenever they saw Hinata. Everyone stopped and stared whenever he swam by. At the moment, Hinata stayed mostly in the castle. He spent time with the queen, who he quickly befriended. Kageyama would sometimes swim past her room and hear the two of them giggling inside. 

One day, while Kageyama was swimming past, the queen spotted him. “Tobio, come here. I need you to do something for me.” Kageyama warily swam inside and saw Hinata sitting on the floor, his tail curled up beneath him. The queen had several hair pins in her hands and was trying to tame Hinata’s hair, but to no avail. His hair was so thick and unruly that she didn’t seem to be able to do anything to it.

“It’s fine, really. I like wearing my hair down. It feels so swishy,” Hinata said, shaking his head back and forth, causing his hair to cascade and float through the water like a sunbeam. 

“Just like Tobio,” the queen said, glancing at her son, whose hair was also down and gently floating around him. “Except his hair is much easier to tame. Tobio, come help me style his hair. I’m very determined now.”

Kageyama looked around him and yanked a piece of seaweed up, then swam over to the two of them. The prince moved behind Hinata, the orange hair brushing against Kageyama’s face. Kageyama ran his fingers through the soft strands, letting out a soft noise when he discovered gold strands.

Hinata’s eyes had fallen shut as soon as Kageyama’s hands had come into contact with his hair. Kageyama was so gentle and it felt so nice. He felt Kageyama tying his hair up with the piece of seaweed. After that was secured, he took the intricate shell ornaments that his mom had made and started to place them into Hinata’s wavy hair. Kageyama noticed that his mother had picked out very colorful shells and they looked wonderful in Hinata’s bright hair. The prince arranged the shells so that they looked like a crown and then he moved back so that he could see his finished product.

“Ooh, that is just wonderful, Tobio!” the queen exclaimed, clapping her hands as she circled the orange merman. The queen went and grabbed her hand mirror, swimming back and holding it in front of Hinata. “Open your eyes, Hinata.” Hinata opened his eyes and regarded his reflection, turning his head from side to side. Hinata was sure that Kageyama had done a wonderful job, but all he could see was orange. So much orange. He wished that he could’ve been dark, like Kageyama and the queen were. They were such a lovely and nondescript midnight blue that could blend in so well with the water. 

“It’s nice. Thank you, Kageyama,” Hinata said softly, looking away from all the orange in the mirror. Kageyama and his mother shared a look that Hinata missed.

“I have a great idea, Hinata! Why don’t I have Kageyama show you around the kingdom? The two of you have been cooped up in the castle for the past two weeks. Time to go out and see the sights!” the queen said, helping Hinata up and pushing him towards Kageyama. The prince blushed as his mother pushed Hinata against him. Hinata was so tiny in comparison to him and it was even more obvious now that Hinata’s hair was tickling his chin. “Okay, don’t come back until dinner!” the queen exclaimed, shoving the two young mermen out of her room and into the hall.

The two blinked and then shyly looked at each other. “Um, shall we go then?” Kageyama said. Hinata smiled and nodded eagerly, excited to be finally going outside. The two left the castle, aware of everyone’s amazed looks. Kageyama kept nervously glancing around them as everyone stared.

“Are you okay with me?” Hinata asked suddenly as they swam past a large coral reef. “As your mate, I mean?”

“To be honest, I’m not sure,” Kageyama said. “I’m not. . . very good with others.”

Hinata giggled, “I can tell.”

“You could at least pretend like it wasn’t that obvious,” Kageyama muttered, crossing his arms.

Hinata snorted, “Okay, sorry. It’s not at all obvious.” He became serious again. “But, thanks for being honest with me. I don’t know how I feel about you, either. So, I guess we can just start off as friends?”

“Friends?” Kageyama repeated.

“Yeah, friends,” Hinata said. “Do you. . . have friends?”

“Of course!” Kageyama exclaimed, bristling slightly. But only slightly since Hinata looked genuinely curious and was not trying to make fun of him. “I have Daichi and Suga.”

“Daichi and Suga?” Hinata asked. “Do they live in the castle?”

“Well, Daichi does since he’s my bodyguard. Suga will be moving in with him soon since they just mated. Suga is still staying in the teacher’s abode,” Kageyama explained. “The three of us have been together since forever.”

“When can I meet them?” Hinata asked.

“We’re near Suga’s house, so we can go visit right now if you want. Daichi is probably there also since he’s not guarding me.”

“Haha, slacking off, huh?” Hinata tittered. “They must really love each other.”

“They do,” Kageyama said. They turned a corner and Kageyama spotted the teacher’s abode. “Ah, here we are.” Just then, Daichi swam out, turning back to talk to someone who was still inside. “That’s Daichi.”

Hinata eyed his black tail and short black hair and felt jealous. Why was everyone dark except him? That’s what he thought until another, smaller merman appeared. Hinata gasped when he saw the merman, his tail and long hair a flashing silver. His skin was so pale that it was almost white, making him look angelic. His colors contrasted so well with Daichi’s and his rugged handsomeness that Hinata immediately knew that the silver merman was Suga.

“He’s silver,” Hinata managed to get out.

“Yeah, all the teachers and healers are,” Kageyama stated. He saw Hinata’s confused look. “You’ve never seen a silver merman before?” Hinata shook his head, his ponytail swaying in the water. 

“Kageyama! Hinata!” Suga called out, waving enthusiastically to them. He grabbed Daichi’s hand and swam over to the two younger mermen. “Are you showing Hinata around?” Suga asked, giving Hinata a warm smile. “I’m Suga, by the way.”

“Hinata,” Hinata said, even though Suga had already called him by his name. Hinata was just stunned at seeing a silver merman. He had thought that he had been the only non-dark merperson in the entire ocean.

Suga’s smile widened and he gestured to the black merman. “This is Daichi.” Daichi gave him a small wave. “I’m sorry that we haven’t introduced ourselves until now but we’ve been busy. . .”

“Oh, Kageyama told me that you’re moving into the castle,” Hinata said.

“So you already know that Daichi and I are mated?” Suga asked in a chipper voice, giving Daichi a loving look. Daichi gave him one back and the two lost themselves in each other’s eyes until Kageyama cleared his throat awkwardly. Suga blushed and laughed, looking away from Daichi. “A-anyway, we’re so glad to finally meet you! I’m so happy that Kageyama will finally have a special someone also.” Suga gave them a pleased and gentle look and Kageyama and Hinata found themselves both speechless. Suga continued to speak, “Hinata, when I move into the castle, I’ll be glad to give you some lessons.”

“Really?” Hinata asked, eyes sparkling. He suddenly remembered something and bit his lip, looking down at the ocean floor. “But um, I’ve never been taught, so I might be a terrible student.”

“Nonsense! It’ll be my pleasure to teach you!” Suga responded.

“You never had a teacher in Nekoma?” Daichi asked. “There aren’t any silver merpeople there?”

Hinata flushed. “I stayed in the castle the entire time for my safety, so I really never saw much of anything.”

“Hmm, so Suga is your first?” Daichi asked, giving Suga a smirk.

“Oh shush,” Suga said, smacking Daichi with his tail. He turned back to Kageyama and Hinata. “We have to move my stuff into Daichi’s room so we’ll be going.”

“Do you want any help?” Kageyama asked.

“No, we’ll be fine. You two go have fun,” Suga said, shooing them away. Kageyama and Hinata swam away and Suga watched after them like a concerned mother. “Think they’ll be okay?”

“I’m sure they’ll be fine, especially with you watching over them,” Daichi said, wrapping an arm around Suga’s slim waist and pulling him closer.

“I hope you’re right,” Suga said, the two of them turning back to the teacher’s abode to pick up Suga’s belongings.

***

“KAGEYAMAAAA!!! I KNOW YOU’RE IN HERE!” Hinata yelled, searching throughout the room.

“God, you’re so loud, dumbass,” Kageyama groaned, trying to snuggle back against the soft sand. Hinata was so loud and buoyant all the time and he wanted constant attention. He tried to drag Kageyama around with him all over the place when the prince just wanted to hide in his room. This had brought out Kageyama’s cranky side, which had been dormant ever since his father had died.

“Found you!” Hinata sang, his voice coming from above Kageyama’s head. The prince opened his eyes and found Hinata floating upside down above him, his long hair floating around his face. Hinata gave him a grin, causing Kageyama’s heart to start racing. Well, until Hinata started to whine about wanting to go outside and explore. 

“Can’t we just stay inside today? And explore in here?” Kageyama asked.

“No,” Hinata negated. “We did that yesterday.” He gave Kageyama a cute pout and moved closer, grasping on a lock of Kageyama’s black hair which had been splayed out against the sand. He tugged on it gently, his eyes widening and his pout intensifying. “Please? Please?”

Kageyama felt a pull at his heart strings and he let out an exasperated sigh. “Ugh, fine.” He held his arms up, “Help me get up.” Hinata rolled his eyes, but grasped   
Kageyama’s hands and pulled with all his might. The tiny merman lost his balance and flipped over, landing face first in the sand. A laugh had bubbled out of Kageyama’s mouth before he could stop it and Hinata sat up with an amazed expression on his face. 

“You just laughed!” Hinata said, pointing at the prince.

“Did not,” Kageyama said, schooling his features back into place.

“Did too!” Hinata crowed, jumping up off the sand.

“Did not, dumbass. Let’s go before it gets dark,” Kageyama said, grabbing Hinata’s arm and dragging him out of the room, ignoring Hinata’s peals of laughter. 

The two swam around, exploring the area around them, swimming through the coral reef and chasing some fish around. They looked under rocks and ventured into sea caves. The two were having a great time, even racing each other, Kageyama barely beating Hinata. The prince was surprised by how fast the orange merman was. 

They had been swimming around and goofing off so long that Kageyama hadn’t even noticed that they were getting closer and closer to the surface. He suddenly noticed the water getting lighter and clearer and he glanced up in fear, seeing the faint outline of the sun. Hinata followed his gaze and let out a happy chirp, rushing upwards. Kageyama suddenly saw a flash of his father, a harpoon sticking out of his stomach. Then his vision turned into a harpoon piercing into Hinata, blood staining his beautiful orange tail and hair. 

Kageyama reached out, grasping the end of Hinata’s tail, stopping the merman from making his ascent. Hinata stopped and turned back to face the prince. “Don’t. . . don’t go up there.”

“What? Why not? I always went up there before,” Hinata said, glancing back up at the sun eagerly. He wanted to bask in the light and warmth once again. 

Kageyama’s grip tightened and he pulled Hinata down, feeling panicky. If Hinata went up there then he would die just like his father had and Kageyama wouldn’t be able to handle that. “Just. . . don’t go.”

Hinata saw the fear and terror in the prince’s eyes. He hesitated. He really wanted to go to the surface, but not if Kageyama had that look on his face. He floated back down to Kageyama’s side, putting a hand on his shoulder and squeezing it. Kageyama’s breathing had gotten faster and heavier and Hinata could tell he was trembling from the hand he had on his shoulder. “Okay, Kageyama. Let’s go back home.”

“Yeah,” Kageyama responded, feeling a rush of relief when Hinata decided that he wasn’t going to go to the surface. Hinata took his hand and they swam back to the castle together, Kageyama’s heartbeat growing steadier the closer they got to home. They swam into the castle and Hinata accompanied Kageyama back to his room. Kageyama slumped down onto the sand, burrowing down into it to feel safe. He was safe at the bottom of the ocean where there were no humans.

Hinata floated closer to him, brushing his hand over Kageyama’s hair. “Are you gonna be okay, Kageyama?” Kageyama made a low noise in the back of his throat. “Do you want me to stay with you?” Kageyama stilled and then turned to face Hinata, giving him a barely perceptible nod. Hinata laid down on the sand behind Kageyama, lightly wrapping his tail around Kageyama’s. He then wrapped an arm around the prince and held him close, feeling the now steady beat of his heart. “It’s okay, Kageyama. We’re both safe.” He felt Kageyama grab his hand and cling onto it, like he was trying to validate if they were still safe or not. Hinata squeezed his hand back in reassurance and continued to stroke his hair with his other hand.

“It’s okay, I’m here. I’m not going to leave,” Hinata whispered, feeling the prince settle against his body and relax.

***

Hinata wanted to find out why Kageyama was so terrified of the surface, so he decided to ask his new teacher. Suga had moved in a week ago and had settled in with Daichi. He popped into Hinata’s room yesterday to tell the orange merman that he could begin teaching him the next day and to get a good night’s sleep to rest his brain. Since Kageyama said that they had been friends for forever, then Suga had to know what had happened to make Kageyama so scared. 

Suga and Hinata were nestled in the library, going over some math when Hinata decided to bring it up. Kageyama was off practicing fighting with Daichi, so Hinata knew he was nowhere near him and Suga. Also, Hinata just really needed a break because his head was hurting him.

“Suga?” Hinata started gingerly.

“What is it, Hinata? Do you not understand something?” Suga asked, tucking in a long strand of silver hair behind his ear and smiling at Hinata.

“Well, yes, but not about math,” Hinata said, watching Suga’s face grow confused. “It’s about. . . Kageyama.”

Suga frowned slightly and closed his book, giving Hinata is full attention. “What about Kageyama?”

“Yesterday, we were swimming around and suddenly we were near the surface before either of us knew it. And he. . . panicked. He was so scared,” Hinata said, remembering the fear in the prince’s blue eyes. “And I was wondering if something had happened to make him like that?”

Suga let out a tired sigh and rubbed his temples. “Something did happen, when he was young. Kageyama had swam up to the surface one day and his father went to bring him back since it’s dangerous up there. While Kageyama was up there, a ship came into view. Kageyama’s father got there in time to save Kageyama, but in the process he was hit with a harpoon. He died in Kageyama’s arms.” Hinata let out a gasp and put his hand over his face in horror. He saw a flash of his own parents being devoured and understood why Kageyama was so afraid. “Kageyama blames himself for what happened. And now he refuses to go anywhere near the surface.” Suga paused, looking like he wasn’t sure if he should go on, but then he did, slowly. “I-I entirely blame myself for what happened.”

“What? Suga, it’s not your fault! And it’s not Kageyama’s!” Hinata exclaimed.

Suga’s eyes teared up and his shoulders began to quiver. “B-but I was the one that told Kageyama how amazing the surface was. And. . . I was the one that told the king where Kageyama had gone. I sent him up there to his death,” he sobbed, huddling over in a ball. Hinata rushed over, wrapping his arms around the silver merman and telling him that in no way that was his fault. 

After a few minutes, Suga calmed down and wiped his eyes. He gave Hinata a watery smile. “I haven’t cried like that for a long time. I think I needed that,” he said, brushing Hinata’s long hair out of his face so that he could look into his eyes. He cupped Hinata’s face with one of his slender hands. “And that’s why I’m so glad that you’re here. You can help fill the void in Kageyama’s heart and maybe even help him overcome his fear of the surface. As the future ruler of Karasuno, he needs to be able to go to the surface to protect us if anything bad happens. We’ve let it slide for so long, unfortunately.” Suga took his hand off Hinata’s face and ran it through his silver hair, sighing again and thinking about all that they could’ve done differently. He looked back at Hinata, who was staring at him with rapt attention. 

“I’ll help!” Hinata said, leaning forward, his hands on his tail, which was curled beneath him. “I’ll help Kageyama!”

Suga smiled and ruffled Hinata’s hair, “I know. Let’s just hope that it’s enough.”

***

Hinata started to seek Kageyama out every day at every possible moment that he could. Whenever Kageyama wasn’t doing his princely duties, then Hinata would drag him outside to explore and wander. He started off near the castle and inside the clan. And then he slowly started to move closer and closer to the surface. He would go at small increments, just a few feet higher than before. It was so slow that Kageyama never noticed that they were getting farther and farther away from home. It was hard when a literal ray of sunshine was swimming around him, giggling and telling stupid jokes and stories. Hinata would do whatever he had to do to keep Kageyama’s mind off of the surface.

One day, Kageyama finally realized what Hinata was up to. He could tell that they were farther than they had gone in recent days. Hinata had a tight hold of his hand and was telling him a silly anecdote that Suga had told him the day before in their class. Kageyama noticed that the water was clearer, less dark and murky than where they lived. He glanced up, fear setting in. Exactly how close were they to the surface? Was anyone up there? And could they already see the two mermen?

Hinata felt Kageyama seize up and freeze next to him. He turned to the blue merman. “Are you okay, Kageyama?”

Kageyama gulped, “Um, we’re just really close to the surface.”

“I know,” Hinata stated, letting his other hand rest on Kageyama’s shoulder, rubbing circles into the prince’s skin with his thumb. Hinata looked guilty and ashamed. “I meant to tell you, but you were doing so well.” Hinata took a deep breath and then let it out slowly. “Suga told me about what happened. . . to your father. And that that is why you’re afraid of the surface. And he also told me that at some point you’re going to have to go up there. So I thought that I could get you up there if we went very, very slowly. You’ve done such a good job, too!” Hinata cupped Kageyama’s face with both of his hands. The prince could feel the gauzy, orange webbing fluttering against his cheeks. Hinata gave him a bright, sunny smile. “I’m so proud of you, Kageyama!” 

Kageyama’s face turned a deep red. Hinata was so cute that he thought he would die. The queen had commandeered Hinata that morning and had tied up two strands of Hinata’s hair with starfish. The starfish framed his face and made Hinata seem even more sunny than usual. Kageyama also really hoped that Hinata couldn’t feel his pulse because it was racing like crazy. 

“I had planned to go a few more feet today, but this is okay,” Hinata said, letting his hands fall from Kageyama’s face. Kageyama felt cold and disappointed when Hinata backed up a bit. He turned and started to swim back down, but Kageyama grabbed his wrist to stop him.

Kageyama’s cheeks and ears were still red and he couldn’t look Hinata in the eye. “We can go farther up,” he whispered.

Hinata swam back up to him. “Are you sure?” Kageyama nodded, still not meeting Hinata’s gaze. “Okay then. Tell me if you need to stop,” Hinata said, slipping his hand up and intertwining his fingers with Kageyama’s. The prince clung onto him as they swam slowly towards the surface. They moved bit by bit, Kageyama trembling the closer they got.

“Good, you’re doing well, Kageyama,” Hinata murmured, his tail swishing back and forth. 

Kageyama let out a strangled gasp when he saw the faint outline of the sun. The surface was too close. He started to panic again, like he had the other day. Kageyama started to unconsciously pull away, trying to get back to safety at the bottom of the ocean. Hinata felt Kageyama tugging at him, fear laced in his eyes. The orange merman quickly threw his arms around the prince and embraced him, even twisting their tails together. 

“It’s okay, it’s okay. We’re both okay,” Hinata said, running his hands up and down Kageyama’s smooth back, trying to soothe the dark merman. They stayed like that for a while, Hinata murmuring encouraging things to Kageyama while the prince squeezed the smaller merman to his body. During this time, Hinata allowed them to sink further and deeper into the ocean, the darkness swallowing them.

Eventually Kageyama relaxed and his grip loosened. Hinata held him a moment longer before letting him go. He ruffled Kageyama’s hair affectionately. “You did a good job.”

Now that they were safe in deeper waters again, Kageyama allowed himself to get flustered and embarrassed. He, the prince of Karasuno, had freaked out and clung to this tiny merman for safety. But, he was also embarrassed because he had really enjoyed it. Being in Hinata’s arms made him feel protected and whole. 

“S-shut up, dumbass,” Kageyama stuttered, taking off swiftly towards the castle, leaving a chuckling Hinata in his wake. 

***

The Karasuno clan could see what Hinata was doing and they cheered him on. They were thrilled to see their prince out and about and to hear that every day, he got closer and closer to overcoming his fear. The people happiest about this were the ones closest to Kageyama. His mother was ecstatic and couldn’t help but hum while she did her work. Every morning Hinata would go see her and tell her about Kageyama’s progress. Sometimes, when she was in a particularly good mood, she would rope Hinata into letting her do his hair. 

Suga and Daichi were also happy about it, the silver merman even tackling Hinata in a hug when he told him how close Kageyama had gotten to the surface. Daichi watched on with an amused look on his face as his mate practically strangled Hinata in his embrace. 

“I’m so happy!” Suga wailed into Hinata’s braided hair. “You’re a miracle, Hinata! A miracle!” Daichi finally stepped in, prying Suga off of Hinata. 

Daichi rolled his eyes playfully as Suga blew his nose. “Thank you so much, Hinata. What you’re doing really means a lot to us. I don’t think there are any words to give you to show our appreciation.”

“Oh, there you go, being all formal,” Suga hiccupped, gently whacking Daichi with his tail.

Daichi flushed and hissed, “Well, we’re supposed to be.”

“Hinata doesn’t care about that,” Suga said.

“I don’t mind. You can talk to me normally,” Hinata grinned, watching the two banter. 

Suga turned back to the orange merman, “We’re done for today, Hinata. I’m sure Kageyama is around here somewhere.”

Hinata’s face brightened and he ducked his head to hide his blush. He had started to feel strange around the prince the past few days and he had no idea what was wrong with him. His heart would start to beat faster and he felt like his face was on fire whenever Kageyama would brush up against him. 

Suga saw his reaction and giggled softly, waving Hinata away. He had had the same reactions to Daichi when he first started to figure out his feelings for the dark merman. 

“What’s so funny?” Daichi asked after Hinata had swam out of the room.

“Hmm, nothing,” Suga grinned prettily, running his hands down Daichi’s muscular chest, gently scraping with his nails. “How about we have some fun now?”

Daichi growled lightly and nipped at Suga’s neck, causing the silver merman’s giggles to become moans as Daichi led them into their room.

Meanwhile, Hinata was on the hunt for Kageyama. He headed straight to the prince’s room, but he wasn’t in there. Hinata pursed his lips and continued, going through Kageyama’s favorite hiding spots. He couldn’t find him anywhere. Finally, Hinata was passing his room and paused. Kageyama wouldn’t be in there, right? But he had checked everywhere else, so he decided to try it. 

Hinata parted the seaweed and saw Kageyama, nestled in the sand of his room, napping. The small merman felt his heart rate quicken as he floated closer to Kageyama, watching the rise and fall of his bare chest. His full lips were parted as he snored softly. Kageyama’s black hair was strewn across the sand and Hinata reached down to pick up a silky strand. 

When he did, Kageyama stirred, causing Hinata to quickly drop the strand, letting it float gently through the current. Hinata’s blood was pounding in his ears as Kageyama’s eyes twitched and then opened, his gaze zeroing in on the orange merman above him.

“Done with your class?” Kageyama asked, sitting up and stretching, causing Hinata to move back so their foreheads didn’t clash. 

“What are you doing in here?” Hinata asked.

Kageyama gave him a look like the answer was obvious. “Because we’re going to go out and swim now.”

Hinata flushed again, “O-oh. Okay then.”

Kageyama got up and started to head for the door, turning back to the flustered Hinata. “Well, let’s go.”

“Right!” Hinata yelled, rushing to the door. 

“So much energy,” Kageyama yawned, following Hinata out of the room and then out of the castle. 

The two swam through the clan, waving and greeting other merpeople. Kageyama was much more approachable and friendly and the mers relied on him now. As the two passed, the merpeople gave Hinata thumbs up, wishing him luck on getting Kageyama to the surface. Hinata’s goal for that day was to get Kageyama to the surface, to breach the water and look around himself and everything that was around him. They had been getting closer and closer and today was the day!

The two mermen swam up and up until they could see the sunlight. Kageyama could still remember what the sun had felt like on his skin. The prince was still anxious, but he also wanted to feel the sun on him again, to feel the heat and see the light. He could see the outline of the sun through the water and he still thought that it was beautiful. 

Hinata put his hand on Kageyama’s shoulder and gave him a smile. “You got this.”

Kageyama nodded and took in a deep breath. He could do it. Today he would see the sun again and feel the heat. He would go to the surface. 

Kageyama slowly swam up until he was at the very edge of the water. He could skim his hands across the surface and let them feel the breeze. He glanced back at Hinata, who gave him an encouraging smile. Kageyama gave him an answering smile and then faced forward again. He urged his tail to move and suddenly his face was above the water. He looked up and saw the sun and big, fluffy clouds. It was an absolutely gorgeous day. He looked out at the horizon, expecting to see an encroaching ship, but there was nothing. He looked all around him, only seeing water and rock formations jutting up from coral reefs. 

Kageyama let out a sigh of relief and came out of the water further. He glanced to his right and saw Hinata pulling himself out of the water and onto a rock formation. Kageyama’s heart stopped but then he realized that it was a different rock formation than the one he had been lounging on those years ago. 

Hinata sat at the edge of the rock, his tail swishing back and forth lazily in the water. He twisted his hair into a rope, wringing the extra water from it. Then he flung it over his shoulder, letting the wet curls fall down his back. Hinata lifted his face towards the sun, soaking in the warmth. It had been so long since he’d been at the surface. He had missed it dearly. 

Kageyama stopped and stared openly at Hinata. He had thought that the orange merman had been bright at the bottom of the ocean, but it was nothing compared to when he was basking in the sunlight. His colors were much more vivid than before and the gold tints all over his body flashed whenever he moved. He truly looked ethereal. Kageyama even entertained the idea that the sun had a hand in making Hinata. He was. . .

Beautiful.

Hinata glanced over at Kageyama and gave him a blinding smile, waving the merman over. Kageyama blushed, but swam over. He paused, slowly putting his hands on the rock. Hinata saw him faltering and put one of his hands over Kageyama’s. The prince looked up to meet Hinata’s golden eyes, seeing only hope and encouragement in them. Kageyama flipped his hand over, grasping Hinata’s, and pulled himself onto the rock. He sat next to Hinata and looked out at the ocean and the way it glittered in the sunlight.

“Good job, you did it,” Hinata said, squeezing Kageyama’s hand. 

“I’m at the surface,” Kageyama said, still amazed that he was up here. He thought that he would never be able to come up here again, even though he had to since he was going to be the future ruler of Karasuno. 

“You are,” Hinata replied happily, leaning his head onto Kageyama’s shoulder. The prince flinched but then relaxed. Hinata was warm, like the sun. 

The two stayed there for a few hours, watching fish swim around their tails and dolphins jumping off in the distance. Hinata stayed nestled against Kageyama’s side, even wrapping their tails together. They watched as the sun set, sinking into the ocean. Hinata glanced at Kageyama’s face as the sky changed from blue to a brilliant pink-orange. The prince had a soft look on his face as he gazed at the sunset. 

“See what you’ve been missing?” Hinata asked.

Kageyama hummed in agreement. “It’s so beautiful up here.”

“Yeah, it is,” Hinata murmured, still looking at Kageyama. The prince glanced at him and Hinata quickly looked away, feeling his face heat up. 

When the sun disappeared, Kageyama stirred. “Ready to go back?”

“But what about the stars?” Hinata asked, confused as to why Kageyama would want to miss that.

“The stars?” Kageyama repeated. He had never heard of the stars.

Hinata’s mouth dropped open and he gripped onto Kageyama’s arm tightly. “We are definitely staying! I can’t believe you don’t know what stars are. You can see them at nighttime.”

“Oh,” Kageyama said, still confused as to why they were staying. The sun was gone. What was there to look at now?

“Kageyama, look,” Hinata said, pointing up towards the sky. Kageyama tipped his head back and gasped. There was something else in the sky emitting light. It was much softer than the sun and had a white glow. Little pinpricks of light appeared all over the sky. There were thousands of them and they reminded Kageyama of some diamonds he found in a sunken ship. 

“What do you think?” Hinata asked.

“There are so many of them,” Kageyama said, craning his neck to try to see all of the stars. “What’s that big white one called?”

“That’s the moon,” Hinata said. “It comes up when the sun goes down.”

“You mean the moon never gets to see the sun?” Kageyama asked forlornly. That seemed so sad. 

“And the sun never gets to see the moon,” Hinata said, holding his hand up against the outline of the moon, looking at the light shining through his translucent webbing. “But we’re lucky because we get to see both.”

They went silent again as they stargazed. Kageyama decided that the nighttime sky was beautiful, but he would take the sun over the moon and stars any day.

***

“What do you want to do today?” Hinata asked Kageyama as he was lazing around.

“I found a new ship wreck recently but I haven’t gone inside yet. Want to go with me?” Kageyama asked, rolling over onto his stomach and lifting his tail so that his fins floated above his head.

Hinata’s eyes sparkled and he sat up immediately. “Heck yeah! Let’s go right now!” He grabbed Kageyama’s hands and pulled him off the sand, excitingly tugging him out of the room. 

They swam past the queen who smiled brightly at the two of them, not missing that they were holding hands. “What are you two up to today?”

“We’re going exploring!” Hinata crowed, eyes shining.

The queen chuckled, “You two have fun. And be careful.”

“We will,” Kageyama said. 

When the mermen arrived at the wreck, Hinata was speechless. The ship was in-tact and sitting on the ocean floor. Kageyama swam up to the hulking figure, used to exploring ships and boats. Hinata shuddered as he tried to see through the broken windows. All he saw was pitch-black. A large fish swam out of one of the windows and Hinata shrieked, swimming forward to jump on Kageyama and hide behind him. 

“It’s just a fish, dumbass,” Kageyama said, though he didn’t move Hinata’s arms from around his waist.

“I know!” Hinata said, puffing his cheeks out. Another fish darted by, brushing past Hinata’s fins, causing him to scream and hide his face in Kageyama’s hair. Hinata could feel Kageyama laughing. “S-shut up! I was just surprised!”

“Sure,” Kageyama chuckled, swimming forward to the ship. Hinata was still clinging to him so it made it harder to swim, but Kageyama liked Hinata being so close to him. They swam through one of the broken windows and were met with disheveled items scattered all over the place.

Hinata paused, letting go of Kageyama’s waist. He bent down to scoop up a box, opening it. Inside was a tiny plastic human standing on its toes. “What’s this thing?” Hinata asked, showing it to Kageyama.

The prince shrugged. “No clue. Maybe humans revere these people or something.”

“Strange,” Hinata said, putting the box back down and moving onto something else. He found a larger box and opened it, revealing shiny objects. “Ooooh, what are these?”

Kageyama hovered behind him, looking over his shoulder. “That’s jewelry. Humans wear them to look pretty.”

“Like with our hair, I guess,” Hinata mused, picking up a tiara and inspecting it. He turned and plopped it down onto Kageyama’s head. “It looks good on you!” he giggled, straightening it while Kageyama frowned at him. 

“Well, then this would look good on you,” Kageyama said, reaching into the box and plucking out a large necklace with teardrop rubies. He fastened it around Hinata’s neck and laid it against Hinata’s skin.

“How do I look?” Hinata asked, grinning.

“F-fine,” Kageyama stuttered, looking away before Hinata could see his blush. The two dug through the rest of the box, placing pieces of jewelry on each other when they thought it would look good. 

Eventually, Hinata moved on, being distracted by another object. He and Kageyama played with every object they found, trying to figure out what the humans would’ve used it for.

“There is no way someone would wear this,” Hinata said, holding up a large hooped skirt in front of him. “It’s so heavy! How do they even move?”

“I don’t know, really slowly?” Kageyama guessed, picking at the edge of the frilly skirt. 

“Hmmm,” Hinata mused, flipping the skirt upside down and digging through the material. He disappeared inside and Kageyama watched on, wondering what the small merman was doing. Kageyama peered into the smaller opening and saw Hinata sifting through the material, getting closer and closer to him. Hinata looked up just then and saw Kageyama’s face a mere few inches away from his.

“W-what are you doing?” Hinata stuttered, blushing. He was glad that it was darker in the ship so that Kageyama couldn’t see his face very well. There was also the fact that he was buried underneath several layers of cloth.

Kageyama blushed also. “That’s what I should be asking you, dumbass. What the heck are you doing in there?”

“I wanted to try it on!” Hinata said, wriggling his way back up the material. He paused a moment and tugged on the material, then gave Kageyama a pleading look.

“You’re stuck aren’t you?” Kageyama asked drily. 

“Don’t judge me! Just help me!” Hinata cried. Kageyama huffed and reached into the skirt to grab Hinata’s hands. He pulled Hinata’s arms through and then his head. After Hinata was free, Kageyama shimmied the skirt down his waist until it sat on his hips. 

“There, I think that’s how you wear it,” Kageyama said, smoothing the material down.

Hinata sat back against a table, lifting his tail in the water and swishing it about. “Wow, it’s so heavy. I feel like I’m being dragged down.”

“Well, you look utterly ridiculous,” Kageyama said, watching as Hinata struck a pose and blew a kiss at him.

“Do not. I look amazing!” Hinata said, turning his back to Kageyama and twisting his hair around to the front, revealing his creamy back. The prince gulped as Hinata sent him another look over his shoulder. The skirt fluttered slightly as Hinata swayed his tail back and forth.

“Still look stupid,” Kageyama lied. “Can you even swim in that thing?”

“Probably not,” Hinata said, departing the table and immediately falling flat on his face. Kageyama couldn’t help but chortle at the flailing merman. Hinata turned to him, cheeks puffed out again. “You are just so rude.”

“Haha, oh man, that was amazing,” Kageyama laughed, wiping away tears. Hinata softened when he saw how hard Kageyama was laughing. He had barely seen the prince laugh or even crack a smile the entire time he had been living at the castle. Hinata started to laugh also, joining in with Kageyama. They laughed until their stomachs ached.

When they had quieted down, Hinata turned around and looked up at Kageyama, holding his arms in the air towards him. “Can you help me get out of it now?”

Kageyama thought he heard a nerve burst in his brain as Hinata sat on the floor, an imploring look in his eyes, and his hands reaching up to him. Kageyama swam over and grabbed the bottom of the skirt so that he could pull it over Hinata’s head. The orange merman slipped out and ran a hand through his hair.

“I’m definitely convinced that those are torture devices,” Hinata said, gesturing to the skirt that was clutched in Kageyama’s hands. The prince nodded mutely, tightening his grip on the material. Kageyama’s mouth opened to say something, but before any sound could come out, Hinata was swimming away, already distracted by something else. Kageyama shut his mouth and let the skirt fall back down to the floor. 

Hinata swam down a hallway, skirting over chairs and other discarded furniture. He saw an open door and floated inside, stopping when he saw something. There was a large mirror in the corner of the room, broken, but one could still visibly see their reflections. Hinata swam up cautiously, not recognizing what the foreign object was. He stopped cold when he saw himself staring back. 

He looked on in disgust at his bright orange tint, ever visible even in the dark ship. His flashes of gold were hidden well in the dark, but he knew they were there and that they drew even more attention to himself. Hinata also noticed that everything Kageyama had placed on him was some hue of red or yellow. The jewels made his orange color pop even more, making him shine like he too was a jewel. Hinata clutched at the necklace around his throat, prepared to yank it off. It felt like Kageyama was making fun of him for being different. Perhaps Kageyama thought that he was too different and didn’t want to mate with him. 

Hinata’s hair fluttered down in front of his face, blocking his view. When it floated back with the current, Hinata saw Kageyama behind him in his reflection. The prince gently placed a hand over the one crushing the necklace. 

“Do you not like it?” Kageyama asked, giving Hinata a disappointed look. He thought that it had looked lovely on Hinata. “I thought that. . . it would look nice on you.”

Hinata reared back, his tail slapping Kageyama on accident. “You’re still making fun of me?” he asked, heartbroken. He thought that his and Kageyama’s relationship was special, that it could become even more. But had Kageyama been playing with him this entire time?

“I’m not making fun of you,” Kageyama said, his face pinching into a look of confusion. 

“You are! You’re laughing at me because of my color! Because I’m different from everyone else!” Hinata shouted, trembling. 

Kageyama grabbed Hinata’s shoulders and spun him around so that they were facing each other. “Hinata, I’m not making fun of you because you’re orange. I actually really like your color. You remind me of the sun, bright and warm and cheery. And. . .” he paused, blushing. Hinata was so close to Kageyama that he could make out the red tint even in the shadow of the room. “And I think that you’re beautiful. The way you are. Just like the sun is.”

Hinata’s arms, which had just been whacking Kageyama, dropped, falling to his sides. His glassy eyes widened immensely. “You. . . you think that I’m beautiful? Even though I’m orange?”

“You are the most beautiful mer I have ever seen and I’ve always thought that about you,” Kageyama rushed, his ears now turning red. 

“Since the first moment you saw me?” Hinata asked in awe. Kageyama nodded. “Even now?” Kageyama nodded again, shyer than before. Hinata’s heart started to race as he continued to gaze at Kageyama. Kageyama, who Hinata thought was the absolute epitome of a perfect merman, thought that he was beautiful.

Hinata cupped Kageyama’s face in his hands and gave him a tender smile, feeling his eyes water. “Thank you.”

***

Suga was anxiously twirling his hair around his finger, glancing out the window constantly. Hinata was no better. A few members of their clan, including Kageyama and Daichi, had gone out on a hunting mission and were late in returning. Usually, people that went out always came back on time, unless something bad had happened. 

Hinata chewed on his nails relentlessly, glancing out the window again. He had lost count of how many times he had checked to see if they were back. Suga wasn’t faring any better and their lesson was going down the drain quickly.

“Do you think-?” Hinata started, voicing his fears. What if something really had happened and someone was hurt? Or worse! This was the first time that Kageyama had gone out on a hunting mission. What if he never came back?

“Don’t say it, Hinata,” Suga said, trepidation laced in his voice. His hand shook as he twirled his hair around and around. “I don’t. . . I can’t. . .” He couldn’t even get the words out. He didn’t know how he would survive without Daichi. Daichi was his best friend and his soulmate. He couldn’t even think about life without Daichi by his side. 

Suga looked over at Hinata, who was curling in on himself and chewing non-stop on his nails. The silver merman reached over and took Hinata’s hand. “It’ll be okay. They’ll be back soon. I know it.”

About an hour later, the merpeople of Karasuno were really beginning to worry. What had happened? Were they all hurt? Were they all. . . gone? Hinata shook his head, trying to wipe that thought away. They had to be okay, they just had to be.  
At some point, even the queen was pacing around the room while Hinata and Suga stared forlornly out the window. 

Suddenly, one of the mermaids that had gone out hunting appeared, darting into sight. Hinata, Suga, and the queen rushed out to meet her to find out what was happening. The mermaid caught sight of them and swam their way.

“Is something wrong?” the queen asked, fearing the worst. She had finally let her son go out on a hunting mission. She couldn’t let him go before because she didn’t want to lose him. And then after that he had become a recluse and hid inside. What if she had let her son go only to die? She glanced over at Hinata, who was visibly trembling and hanging on to every word that the mermaid was saying.

“It’s not that bad,” she said, continuing on with her story. “A rock fell and hit his head. He woke up after that but we decided to take the rest of the hunt slow. We didn’t realize how much time had gone by until just recently and I rushed back to tell everyone that we’re fine.”

At the edge of Karasuno, the other hunting party members were just returning. One was carrying their large haul behind him. Daichi was helping back another merman, his arm wrapped around his waist for support. Kageyama was trailing behind them to make sure nothing dangerous followed them. The mermaid rejoined them and took ahold of the merman, saying that she would help him home.

As soon as the mermaid had a firm grip on the injured merman, Daichi turned to Suga and held his arms out. He knew how worried his mate must’ve been. Suga let out a happy squeal and rushed right into Daichi’s embrace. 

The queen moved forward to hug her own son, but stopped when a flash of color surpassed her. She watched as Hinata tackled her son in a tight hug, mumbling something into Kageyama’s chest. She smiled and decided to give them a moment alone before she smothered Kageyama in her own hugs. 

“I was so worried!” Hinata cried, his hands clutching onto Kageyama’s back. “I thought. . . I thought. . .”

“Shhh, it’s okay,” Kageyama murmured. He had been rather surprised when Hinata had launched himself at him, but had quickly relaxed in the tiny merman’s hold. Kageyama   
wrapped his own arms around Hinata and pressed a quick kiss to bright orange hair, not that Hinata noticed. He was too busy blubbering into Kageyama’s chest. 

“I’ll always come back to you, Hinata,” Kageyama whispered, closing his eyes and feeling whole again.

***

Hinata practically purred in delight as Kageyama brushed his hair. The two of them were lounging in Kageyama’s room and the prince had suddenly asked if he could play with Hinata’s hair. The orange merman had readily agreed and was currently sitting on a stool, his tail curled to the side. Kageyama floated behind him, with an old mother-of-pearl-inlaid brush that he had found several years ago. 

Kageyama took one of Hinata’s soft waves and ran the brush through it gently. Hinata let out a pleased sigh, eyes fluttering shut as the prince continued to brush his hair. After Kageyama was pleased with how much neater Hinata’s hair looked, he reached over to one of his boxes where he kept his treasures. Hinata’s eyes opened to see what Kageyama was doing and saw him pull something out of a box. 

“I made this for you,” Kageyama said softly, clutching the object in his hands. He held it out so that Hinata could see. It had originally been the tiara that Hinata had placed on Kageyama’s head while they were in the wrecked ship, but Kageyama had changed it, using the basic shape and adding beautiful yellow and white shells. It was absolutely stunning. 

“I had wondered what you were doing this past week,” Hinata said, teasing the prince lightly. 

“Will you wear it?” Kageyama asked nervously. Hinata beamed and nodded in response, turning back around so that Kageyama could place it on his head. Kageyama tied   
Hinata’s hair up in a high ponytail and then put the reformed tiara on him. 

The two of them didn’t know what to say after that and were extremely awkward. “U-um, how about I do you now?” Hinata squeaked, jumping off the stool. His face turned pink when he realized what he just said. “I mean your hair! Your hair!”

“Yeah, that’s fine,” Kageyama answered, trying his hardest not to blush either. He had been doing that way too often around Hinata these days. The orange merman probably thought his face was permanently red. 

Kageyama took Hinata’s place on the stool and turned his back to Hinata. The small merman picked the brush back up and he eagerly started to brush the prince’s hair. He had been wanting to do this for weeks. Kageyama’s hair looked like liquid silk as it floated around in the water. Kageyama made a sound in the back of his throat and Hinata wondered if that meant that he liked having his hair brushed.

Hinata bit his lip and put the brush down. He really wanted to run his fingers through the silky locks and see if they were as soft as he thought. He tentatively brought his hand up and ran his fingers through the black hair. Kageyama jumped slightly, but then leaned his head into Hinata’s hand, urging him on. Hinata’s heart beat loudly as Kageyama practically nuzzled his hand. Did he even realize that he was doing that? 

Eventually, Hinata couldn’t take it anymore. He gripped a handful of Kageyama’s hair and turned the merman’s head towards him. The prince looked up at him with his large, blue eyes opened wide. Kageyama parted his lips to ask Hinata what was going on when the orange merman leaned down and pressed his lips against his own open ones. 

After a moment, Hinata pulled away, letting go of his hold on Kageyama’s hair. His heart dropped at the look of pure shock on Kageyama’s face. Was Kageyama disgusted by that? They had agreed to just be friends. 

But then Kageyama was placing his hand behind Hinata’s head and tipping him forward so that their lips brushed again. This kiss lasted longer and felt sweeter because they both realized that they had feelings for each other and it wasn’t one-sided. 

When they pulled away, they lingered near each other, their foreheads touching. Hinata laughed, beyond relieved. Their feelings were mutual. “I’ve been wanting to do that for a while now,” Hinata admitted, twisting his fingers back into Kageyama’s hair.

“Me too,” the mer prince said, giving Hinata a shy smile.

After that, Kageyama started to officially court Hinata. The queen was overjoyed about the news, especially when she saw Kageyama and Hinata swimming down the hall and joking around. Her son was back and he was so happy.

The cutest thing that Hinata found Kageyama doing was bringing him back little gifts that he had found out and about. Whenever Kageyama went out on a hunting or a scouting mission or visited another clan, he would always bring something back for Hinata. He brought him pretty shells and pearls of all different colors. He brought him back little knickknacks and tiny urchins and beautiful coral. And every time he presented one of the gifts to Hinata, he would have a shy but excited look on his face. He would put whatever the gift was in his hands and hold them outreached to Hinata while his own face was ducked. And when Hinata said that he loved the gift, Kageyama’s mouth would turn into the most endearing little smile. 

Another thing that Hinata loved about their courting was that Kageyama would seek him out so that they could be together. Hinata would be reading in the library and Kageyama would swim in and tentatively sit next to Hinata, scooting over one little inch at a time. Hinata tried to hide his giggles as he watched Kageyama out of the corner of his eye. But if Hinata waited long enough, then Kageyama would lay down and use Hinata’s lap as a pillow. Hinata cooed softly to himself as he ran his fingers through Kageyama’s hair. 

Kageyama was much more open to touches now and wouldn’t flinch whenever Hinata brushed up against him or leaned his head on his shoulder. Sometimes, Kageyama would even wrap his tail around Hinata’s intimately, which always caused the two of them to blush. And sometimes, especially when Kageyama was sleepy, he would wrap his arms around Hinata and rest his chin on his shoulder. One day, Hinata had been passing by a room when arms reached out for him, pulling him inside. He found himself seated on Kageyama’s lap while the prince blinked sleepily and rested his head in the crook of Hinata’s neck. Hinata had then found out how warm Kageyama was. He was basically radiating heat and Hinata found it nice and toasty and felt himself getting sleepy a few moments later. Suga swam by about thirty minutes later on his quest to find Hinata. He peeked in and let out a happy hum, backing up and deciding to cancel class for that day. 

***

“Ooooh, Kageyama, what is that?” Hinata asked in wonder, eyes wide and sparkling as he pointed to a group of merpeople around their age. 

Kageyama looked over and let out a groan. It was a group playing merball, which consisted of two teams hitting a round rock over a make-shift net. They could hit the rock with their hands or their tails. Kageyama used to play it when he was younger, but had never had any desire once his father had died. Plus there was the fact that there was one merman in particular that he wanted nothing to do with. But Hinata looked so excited about joining that Kageyama led him over there after explaining the rules.

“Well, look who it is,” a snide merman said, swimming up on the opposite side of the net.

“Who’s that?” Hinata whispered.

“Tsukishima. Don’t interact with him too much,” Kageyama said, scowling at the other merman.

“Now, play nice you two. Honestly. You behave like children,” Suga said from the other side of the net, placing his hands on his hips and giving them a disapproving look. Daichi, who was on a different side from Suga, laughed quietly behind his hand.

Suga shot him a look then turned back to Kageyama and Hinata. “Do you two want to play? You can join Daichi’s side.”

“Really?!” Hinata exclaimed, his tail brushing back and forth in excitement. 

“Of course! We’re just about to start playing,” Daichi said, gesturing for them to join him. Hinata scrambled over while Kageyama slowly followed after him, giving Tsukishima a wary look. 

“Scared, Your Highness?” Tsukishima taunted, causing Suga to whack him with his tail. Another merman with freckles also told him to knock it off, but with much more stuttering involved.

“We’re not scared!” Hinata declared, pointing a finger at Tsukishima, who blinked in surprise at the tiny merman. “We’re going to defeat you!”

“Oh?” Tsukishima taunted, an eyebrow raising. “I’ll enjoy seeing you try.”

“Tsukki!” the freckled merman said in shock, trying to discipline the taller merman. Tsukishima clicked his tongue and swam away from the net. “I’m Yamaguchi, by the way,” the merman said to Hinata, giving him a timid smile. Yamaguchi kindly told Hinata more about the rules and then the game was underway. It was clear to everyone that Hinata had never played this game before because he was terrible. Tsukishima was barely hiding his snickering. Everyone else was trying to cheer him on, even players on the opposite team.

“Don’t worry, you almost got it that time,” Daichi said, patting Hinata on the back. He glanced over at their score surreptitiously. It was clear that they were going to lose. He didn’t mind though. It was just a game. And it was Hinata’s first time. And for Daichi, personally, Suga was always very handsy and aggressive sexually after he won a game of merball. So, Daichi didn’t mind in the least. 

Hinata minded though. He pouted, his cheeks puffing out slightly. He had wanted to try to impress Kageyama with how fast and agile he was, but instead kept fumbling with the rock and knocking it into the net or backwards. He had yet to score a point and he knew that they were losing because of him. 

Kageyama swam up to him. “Don’t look so down, Hinata. It’s just your first time. We can practice later if you want.”

“Really?” Hinata asked, eyes shining. He would love to practice all alone with Kageyama. 

“If the two lovebirds are done, can we restart the game?” Tsukishima drawled, tossing the rock up and down in the water. “I want to hurry and win so that I can leave.”

Hinata scowled at him. He really didn’t like the other merman’s abrasive attitude. He really wanted to knock him down a peg. Tsukishima was serving and Hinata would be darned if he didn’t hit the rock this time, just to show Tsukishima that he wasn’t a complete loser. 

Tsukishima served the rock, knocking it over the net. Hinata let out a war-cry and slapped the rock with his tail with all of his might. Everyone stared in amazement as the rock sailed over the net, farther and farther until it landed in a forest of seaweed.

“Wow, that was quite some hit,” Suga whistled, cupping his hands over his eyes to try to see where the rock had landed.

Hinata blushed, completely embarrassed. He had just wanted to hit the rock over the net to score a point, not to send it flying far away. “I’m so sorry! I’ll go retrieve it!” And with that, he scurried away, bursting with speed towards the seaweed forest. 

“Hinata! Wait!” Kageyama yelled, noticing exactly where Hinata was headed. The orange merman was already too far away to hear his shout and Kageyama grumbled something, shooting off after him. 

“Kageyama!” Suga cried, watching as the prince sped off. He paled when he saw a large figure swimming about two hundred feet away from where Hinata currently was.   
“Daichi!” Suga gasped, pointing at the bulking mass as it ambled through the seaweed. 

“Hinata! You dumbass, don’t just take off like that,” Kageyama said, finally reaching Hinata. The tiny merman had the rock clutched in his hands. He looked ashamedly down at the ocean floor.

“I just wanted to impress you,” he said, his voice small.

Kageyama felt his heart clench and he reached out a hand to cup Hinata’s cherubic face. “You’ve already done more than enough to impress me.” He suddenly remembered why he had raced after Hinata in the first place. He slid his hand down to grip onto one of Hinata’s, causing the orange merman to juggle the rock into the crook of his arm. “We need to get out of here. It isn’t safe.”

“K-K-K,” Hinata whimpered, staring past the prince with eyes the size of saucers. The orange merman was completely frozen as he saw the large figure of a Great White Shark swim closer to them, inspecting them, hunting them. If there was one thing that Hinata was terrified of, it was sharks. Especially Great White Sharks. That had been the species that had killed his family. 

Kageyama saw Hinata seize up and spun around, spotting the shark looming towards them. “Shit,” he cursed, tugging Hinata behind him. He could feel Hinata trembling behind him. He must’ve been completely terrified. 

The shark’s eye caught on Hinata’s bright orange hair flowing in the water. It seemed interested in it and surged forward. Hinata screamed in terror, only inciting the shark further. Kageyama shoved Hinata away and whacked the shark in the face with his tail at the same time. The shark became agitated and snapped its jaws at the prince. 

Hinata scrambled back against a rock wall and huddled down into a ball, the rock pressed up against his stomach. Hinata saw flashes of the past, of his parents disappearing and the water filling with blood. He started to shiver. His heart was racing and his hands were shaking.

“Hinata! Get back to safety!” Kageyama yelled, circling protectively in front of the orange merman. He was trying his hardest to keep the shark away from Hinata. If he had been alone, he would have raced back to the safety of the clan, but he couldn’t leave Hinata to the mercy of the shark. He wished that Hinata would swim away so that Kageyama knew he was safe. 

“Hinata!” Kageyama yelled, trying to get the tiny merman’s attention. Hinata was curled in a ball with his hands over his ears. “Hinata!”

Hinata’s golden eyes snapped up to his just as the shark lunged at Kageyama. Hinata shrieked and jumped up, knocking Kageyama out of the way. He couldn’t lose anyone else, especially this way. He had already lost everyone. But now he had Kageyama and he wasn’t going to lose him like this! Hinata felt a sharp pain in his tail, but he was too busy trying to shove Kageyama away. The prince stared at him with fear and pain in his eyes. 

Hinata’s senses were hazy, except for the pain in his tail. He watched as Kageyama’s head jerked, looking behind him. Then he raced off, back towards the clan. Hinata let out a sigh of relief knowing that Kageyama had escaped. He had lost too many loved ones, but at least Kageyama would live.

Hinata turned back to the shark, finding its eyes rolled back and its teeth sunk into his tail. Hinata’s blood was clouding the water. The orange merman discovered that the merball rock was wedged between his body and the shark’s. He grabbed it and started smashing the rock into the shark’s face and mouth, anything to get the shark to dislodge its hold on him. But he was quickly losing consciousness from the pain and the amount of blood that he was losing. 

He heard a shout and looked up through blurry eyes. Merpeople were rushing forward to get the shark away from Hinata. The shark decided that his meal wasn’t worth the trouble and let his hold on Hinata go, swimming away quickly. Hinata’s body fell towards the ocean floor, but somebody caught him and cradled him gently. Then he felt the mer racing off to the castle.

“Hang in there, Hinata,” Kageyama muttered above his ear, swimming as fast as he could go. Hinata relaxed, feeling safe in Kageyama’s arms. He shut his eyes and let out a deep sigh. Kageyama somehow sped up even more when he felt Hinata’s body go limp. He would not lose Hinata. He wouldn’t be able to handle another loss after his father. “Please be okay.”

Kageyama burst into the castle, causing the silver mer healers to rush forward and take the boy. They had heard what had happened from a very panicked Suga and had hurried to the castle to prepare for the worst. 

“He’s lost a lot of blood,” a mermaid healer said as Hinata was carried to a private room. Kageyama tried to follow them, worried sick about Hinata, but another mer stopped him. 

“I know you’re worried, but you’ll only get in the way in here,” he said, even as the other healers immediately started to work on Hinata’s prone body. “We’ll get you when he’s out of danger.”

“But-” Kageyama started, still wanting to be by Hinata’s side.

“We know what we’re doing,” the mer said, gently pushing Kageyama away and closing the door so that the healers could concentrate. 

Kageyama bit his lip and spun around, right into Suga’s arms. The silver merman wrapped his arms tightly around the prince, crying into his shoulder. Kageyama found himself embracing Suga and hiding his own face in silver hair. Daichi came up and joined in. 

“That was so scary,” Suga said. “Poor Hinata.”

“He. . . pushed me away,” Kageyama mumbled, still dumbfounded. Images still flashed through his brain, trying to catch up to the present. They had started off the day with an innocent game and then something tragic had happened. Kageyama felt numb. “Hinata pushed me away when the shark was going to bite me, even though he’s terrified of sharks.” Kageyama’s eyes began to water as he remembered how easily the shark’s teeth had ripped through Hinata’s beautiful orange tail. If only Kageyama had been faster or if he had been successful in getting Hinata away from that dreadful creature.

“He wanted to protect you because he loves you,” Daichi said, rubbing a hand up and down Kageyama’s back, trying to soothe the shuddering mer. His own mate wasn’t doing any better and Daichi wrapped an arm around his slender shoulders.

“It’s all my fault!” Suga sniffled. “If only I hadn’t wanted to play merball. Then Hinata would be safe.”

“No! It’s my fault!” Kageyama negated fiercely, his fists curling into Suga’s hair. “If only I had been faster.”

“It’s nobody’s fault,” Daichi said sternly, turning them both to face him. “It’s not Suga’s fault, it’s not Kageyama’s fault, it’s not Hinata’s fault, it’s not even the shark’s fault. It was just an accident that could’ve happened to anybody.”

“And it happened to Hinata!” Kageyama said forlornly. This had happened to his innocent and bright ray of sunshine Hinata. Hadn’t the orange merman been through enough? Was he cursed to live a life full of pain and tragedy? Just because of his color?

“Sometimes bad things happen to good people,” Daichi said softly, patting Kageyama on the head. “Now, all we can do it wait,” he said, leading the distraught mermen over to a shelf of coral so that they sit down. The large merman sat in the middle whilst the other two leaned against him for support. He wrapped his muscular arms around them   
both, knowing it wasn’t much but it was something.

Kageyama’s mother hurried in a few minutes later after hearing the whole story. She let out a sad sigh when she saw her son, completely exhausted and with the gloomiest face she had seen on him since his father had died. She sat next to him and gave Daichi a look. The black merman gently transferred the prince until his head was resting on her shoulder instead. The queen wrapped her arms around her son and gently rocked him back and forth.

A few hours later, Kageyama was allowed to go to Hinata. The merman was asleep and frightfully pale, but his breathing and heartrate were steady. The healers said that his outcome was favorable, but he shouldn’t move around. A healer would be with him at all times. Kageyama went straight to Hinata’s side, combing his fingers through locks that looked slightly dimmed. Kageyama glanced down at the heavy bandages wrapped around Hinata’s tail and winced. He looked at Hinata’s sleeping face again and leaned down to press a tender kiss to his forehead. 

Kageyama adamantly refused to leave Hinata’s side. He was glued to the orange merman, gripping onto one of his slender hands. Kageyama even slept there, right next to his beloved. His mother, Suga, and Daichi visited often, but they still had jobs to do and didn’t stay as long as Kageyama. The prince knew that he was slacking on his own duties, but nobody said a word. 

Kageyama was sleeping fitfully on the second night when he felt something stirring. He jerked awake, feeling fingers twitching in his own. His gaze snapped to Hinata’s face. The tiny merman’s nose scrunched up and his eyes fluttered and then opened, sliding over to meet Kageyama’s frantic gaze. 

“K. . . ageyama?” Hinata asked, his voice cracking. 

“I’m here,” Kageyama said, fully perched over the merman and gripping his hand even tighter, making sure that Hinata wouldn’t leave him again.

“What happened?” Hinata asked groggily, looking around the dark room in confusion. 

“Y-you. . . you. . . you’re such an idiot,” Kageyama said, leaning down and resting his forehead against Hinata’s. 

Hinata’s other hand slid up Kageyama’s back and clutched onto him. Kageyama tensed at first but immediately relaxed when he realized that it was Hinata. The healer was still dozing in the corner of the room, oblivious to what was happening. 

“I am?” Hinata asked, his fingers twirling into Kageyama’s hair.

“Yes, you are. You’re the stupidest dumbass I know,” Kageyama choked out. “Why did you push me out of the way? You could’ve escaped and been safe.”

Hinata’s fingers stilled and he spoke in the quietest voice that Kageyama had ever heard come from the boisterous mer. “Because I love you.”

Kageyama pulled back to see Hinata’s shining gaze on him. He gave Kageyama a bright smile and, even though it was still dark, Hinata seemed to light up the whole room. Kageyama made a small choking noise in the back of his throat. He cupped Hinata’s face with his free hand. “Oh, my darling, I love you too.”

***

Kageyama spent a plethora of time with Hinata while the orange merman was recovering. He was there when Hinata started to swim again and to offer a helping hand when Hinata faltered. But after Hinata had healed and could swim, Kageyama had a lot of work to catch up on. He had missed a lot of important things that his mother had taken care of, but the prince could tell that she was stressed out and tired, so he decided that he needed to start taking care of his duties again.

Since he had so much to do, Kageyama saw very little of Hinata during this time. Hinata usually moped around in his lessons, wondering when Kageyama would be done so that they could spend some time together. He knew it was crazy, but he enjoyed the time that he had been hurt because he and Kageyama had been inseparable. But he knew that Kageyama needed to work. That didn’t stop him from being lonely though. Suga tried to keep him occupied and when Daichi wasn’t with Kageyama then he would visit Hinata also and tell him about all the good that Kageyama was doing. 

Yamaguchi even came to visit and he and Hinata became fast friends. The freckled merman somehow even managed to drag Tsukishima with him a few times. Hinata still didn’t like him that much, but he knew he couldn’t be so bad if Yamaguchi liked him so much. They played lots of games inside and would tell stories to each other. Everyone loved listening to Hinata’s stories of when he was traversing the seas by himself, before the Nekoma clan found him. It also helped that Hinata was a very animated talker and gesticulated often. 

But after everyone left, Hinata would become lonely again and would wander around the castle, hoping to just see a glimpse of Kageyama, but he knew that the prince was way too busy. 

That night, Hinata went to his room lethargically. It had been a very long without seeing Kageyama at all. He wondered when Kageyama would catch up with his work so that they could spend some time together. The orange merman unpinned his hair, which Suga had helped with, and let his hair flow loosely throughout the water. He gripped onto the hairpins, which Kageyama had given to him, before gently putting them into his treasure box. 

He let out another heavy sigh and then burrowed down into the sand. His eyelids became heavy and he fell asleep. Later in the night, he shifted and felt his elbow hit something. Hinata’s arm moved back to feel what he had hit. Had he rolled over to the wall? He blindly searched and felt soft skin beneath his fingertips. 

Hinata let out a befuddled sound and turned his head. He was met with a view of a sleeping Kageyama, who was curled up behind him, an arm lazily slung over Hinata’s hips. The orange merman turned around slowly and scooted closer to Kageyama, wrapping his tail with the dark blue merman’s. Kageyama sighed in his sleep and curled tighter around Hinata, mumbling incoherent words into Hinata’s ear. 

Hinata gazed into Kageyama’s face, trying to memorize it. He felt like he hadn’t seen the prince in forever. His eyes roamed over Kageyama’s full, parted lips, to the slope of his nose, then to his closed eyes. Hinata paused there, seeing visible dark circles. He gently traced them with a finger, wondering just how hard the prince had been working recently. Hinata decided right then and there to try to not be so lonely. He could be patient and wait for Kageyama. The prince was doing all of this for him. So, Hinata would wait for when he could be with his prince again.

***

“Hey, do you guys know where Kageyama is?” Hinata asked Suga and Daichi when he popped his head into their room. Daichi was brushing out Suga’s long silvery hair while the teacher had his eyes closed in ecstasy. They popped open though when he heard Hinata’s voice.

“Hmm, I haven’t seen him recently. He was with you last, right?” Suga asked, tipping his head back to look at Daichi.

“He said he was going to the surface,” Daichi said.

Hinata’s eyes widened. “All by himself?”

“That’s what it sounded like,” Daichi responded. 

“He was so excited about it that he came in here and was teary-eyed,” Suga giggled.

Daichi blushed, “I’m just proud of him! This will be the first time he goes up to the surface alone!”

Hinata twiddled his thumbs. “Do you think it would be okay for me to follow him? I want to make sure that he’s okay.”

“I guess. He just left a few minutes ago,” Daichi said, grabbing another silky strand of hair and lovingly brushing it out, practically causing Suga to start purring.

“Okay, thanks! See you two later!” Hinata called out, dashing away and swimming after Kageyama. It had been just a week since Kageyama had finally finished all of his work   
and could spend time with Hinata again. Hinata wanted to spend every moment possible with the dark merman and hurried up to the surface even faster. 

When he surfaced, he noticed that the sun was high in the sky and that it was a balmy afternoon. Perfect weather for being at the surface. Hinata took a moment to soak in some heat before looking around for the prince. He saw him a few meters away, basking on a pile of rocks. Hinata caught his breath as he saw how the sun beams fell on Kageyama, making him glow. He looked so peaceful and serene, his eyes shut and face relaxed. He didn’t seem to be afraid at all. Hinata could understand why Daichi was so proud of him for going up to the surface by himself. Kageyama had made real progress and it showed by the way the prince lazily stretched his tail out, fins flopping softly on the warm rock. 

Kageyama’s head shifted and his long hair tumbled down his back in wet waves. Hinata’s fingers itched to run his fingers through the dark strands. Hinata hadn’t noticed the last time they were at the surface, but in the light, Kageyama’s skin looked so white and pure. It contrasted perfectly with the black rope of hair running down his back and the dark blue scales that framed his eyes. 

Hinata let out a shaky sigh when he realized that he was courting such a gorgeous visage, and a prince! 

Kageyama must’ve heard his sigh because his eyes snapped open and caught Hinata in his dark blue gaze. His face softened when he saw who it was.

“What are you doing, Hinata?” Kageyama asked.

“N-nothing! Definitely not thinking about how beautiful you are!” he stammered, not realizing he had said that last part out loud. When Kageyama gave him an incredulous look, he knew that his thoughts had poured out of his mouth. He blushed to high heaven and sunk lower in the water. “I-I’ll be going now.” 

Hinata dove back into waves, feeling his face, neck, and chest burn. He couldn’t believe he had said that out loud! Surely, Kageyama didn’t mind though, since they were courting. But still! Hinata was just so embarrassed! 

Hinata was so lost in his mortification that he hadn’t realized that he had swam out farther than he had meant to until he saw a group of unfamiliar mermen swimming up to him. Hinata quickly glanced around him but there was only the open ocean, himself, and the other mers. They easily spotted him and swam over to him. Hinata wondered if he could escape and quickly turned to flee. Why had he been so lost in thought that he had swum into unfamiliar territory? That had been so stupid of him. He could imagine Kageyama telling him that he was a dumbass of the highest degree. 

Hinata let out a terrified shriek when one of the mermen reached out and grabbed the end of his tail, trying to stop him from getting away. Another one grabbed onto his wrist, tugging sharply on his arm. This had happened several times in Hinata’s past, where a group of mers wanted him because he was rare. There had been one time a group of them had tried to force themselves upon him. That had been the time that Kuroo and the Nekoma clan had found him and sheltered him. 

But there was nobody around this time. There was nobody to save him when he felt something hit his head and cause him to start losing consciousness. He wished that Kageyama was there so that he could feel the prince’s arms around him inside of the stranger’s taking him away.

When he woke up, Hinata didn’t know where he was or even what day it was. He was in a dimly lit room in an unfamiliar place. Hinata sat up and pressed a hand to his temple. It was still sore and throbbed slightly when he touched it. 

A merman with a pitch-black tail swam in and Hinata tensed. The merman had bulging muscles, especially biceps, which would make even Daichi think twice. There was nothing in the room except for the two of them, so if Hinata hoped to escape, he would have to out-swim the other mer. 

“Don’t be afraid,” the merman said in a husky voice. He kneeled on the floor and held out something to Hinata. The orange merman warily took it and saw that it was a cool compress. He gave the merman a small nod and gratefully put the compress against the bump on his head. It immediately felt better and he let out a small sigh. 

“Where am I?” Hinata asked accusingly. He definitely didn’t want to be wherever they were. He wanted to be back at Karasuno with Kageyama and the rest of the mers. 

“This is the clan of Aoba Jōsai. My name is Iwaizumi,” the black merman informed him, sitting a little farther back from Hinata so as not to scare the small merman. 

“Aoba Jōsai?” Hinata repeated. “Why am I here? You’re not going to. . . do things to me, are you?”

Iwaizumi shook his head and let out an exasperated sigh. He shut his eyes and rubbed his temples. “Yes, I’m sorry about how roughly you were handled. Kyotani said you were panicking and he hit you so that you wouldn’t hurt yourself. Honestly, it doesn’t make much sense. Our scouting group found you out in the open ocean. It’s very dangerous there, so we brought you back here.” He seemed to pause, like he thought that he shouldn’t go on, but then decided that he should. “There’s also. . . another reason that you’re here. Our prince is interested in you.”

“What?” Hinata squeaked, involuntarily backing up away from Iwaizumi. 

“Not sexually!” Iwaizumi said. He muttered under his breath, “At least I don’t think so.” Hinata was still pressed against the wall, his eyes wide with fear. “He just wants you here for status because you’re a rare orange mer. He wants to have the only orange mers in the entire sea.”

“B-but. . . I live at Karasuno with Kageyama,” Hinata whimpered. “I want to go back.”

Iwaizumi started at the name and his gaze darkened slightly. “Kageyama. Oh dear.”

“You know him?” Hinata asked uncertainly. 

“The prince, Oikawa, is rather familiar with him,” Iwaizumi said, rubbing his temples again. This was such a headache for him. He felt rather sorry for Hinata for being dragged into this. “They played together often when they were younger and their personalities clashed.”

“I see,” was all that Hinata could say. Honestly, he didn’t care about that. He just wanted to go back home and have this entire ordeal over with. “Can I go?”

“Not yet. Oikawa wants to try to persuade you to stay with him and live here,” Iwaizumi said, gesturing for Hinata to follow him. The orange merman hesitated, but then followed him. He would tell Oikawa outright that he didn’t want to live at Aoba Jōsai. 

“There’s nothing he can say to persuade me to stay,” Hinata said as they swam down hall after hall. 

“Don’t say that just yet,” Iwaizumi said as they entered into a grand hall. 

***

Meanwhile, Kageyama was panicking. He had swam after Hinata to tell him that he thought he was beautiful too, but the orange merman was nowhere in sight. He had felt his heart pounding when he heard Hinata say those words and he had wanted to say it back, but he was speechless. Clearly, Hinata was far more beautiful than he was, but the orange merman somehow saw beauty in him. 

Kageyama decided that Hinata had just headed back to Karasuno to hide in his room until the prince went in and cuddled with him and told him that he was lovely also. But when Kageyama popped his head in, the room was empty. He checked all over the castle, but Hinata was nowhere to be found. He started to panic and had Suga and Daichi join in on his search. They went through all of Karasuno, but Hinata wasn’t there.

Kageyama felt himself start to hyperventilate. Hinata was in danger again! He knew it! And it was his fault! He could’ve told Hinata right then and there that he was gorgeous, but instead he had been awe-struck and had kept his mouth shut. Now Hinata was god-knows-where having who-knows-what done to him.

The entire clan of Karasuno started to fervently search for the orange merman. They were all fond of him and would be grief-stricken if anything had happened to him. 

“Does anyone know anything?” Kageyama asked desperately, facing the rest of Karasuno.

Yamaguchi swam forward a bit. “I actually saw some Aoba Jōsai scouts swimming around, but they weren’t up to anything. We stopped and chatted and then they headed back towards home. Maybe they saw Hinata?”

Kageyama practically blanched at the idea of having to go see Oikawa of all people to find out what had happened to Hinata. But Kageyama would do anything for Hinata, so he decided to take a trip to Aoba Jōsai, bringing Daichi and Suga along with him.

***

“So, this is the lovely orange mer?” the beautiful, dark green, mer prince murmured, eyes roving over Hinata. The tiny merman wrapped his arms around himself, trying to cover as much as possible.

“Stop scaring him,” Iwaizumi said, whacking Oikawa on the back of the head.

“Ow! Iwa-chan, so meeeaaann!” Oikawa whined, rubbing where Iwaizumi had smacked him. Hinata blinked, shocked at the character change. “I was trying to look cool and you totally ruined it! So rude.”

Iwaizumi ignored the simpering prince and turned to Hinata. “Say what you need to and then Oikawa will decide what to do.”

Hinata drew himself up, trying to seem bigger and more intimidating than he actually was. He faced the dark-green mer and bowed slightly, knowing that he still had to show royalty respect. “Thank you for bringing me here because you thought I was in danger, but I do have a home to go back to. And I would really like to go now.”

“Ooh?” Oikawa asked, resting his chin on his elbow as he perused Hinata.

“Y-yes,” Hinata said, confused about Oikawa’s reactions.

“And you would rather be there than live with me in this beautiful castle and be protected for the rest of your life and have anything you desire?” Oikawa asked, a mocking lilt to his voice. How could anyone turn that down?

“I would rather be there than here,” Hinata said truthfully.

Oikawa’s eyes narrowed. “Where in the world do you live that you would turn down such an amazing offer?”

“I live at Karasuno with Kageyama,” Hinata stated.

Oikawa’s fingers, which had been tapping on the arm of his throne, stopped moving. His eyes grew icy for a moment before going back to their regular, cheery selves. His fingers started to tap again, but at a faster, more aggravated pace. “Tobio-chan, hmm? How . . . lovely for you.”

“Yes, and I would like to go back,” Hinata repeated, tacking on a please for extra affect. 

Oikawa regarded him through lowered lids and then held his hand out to the orange merman. “Come here. I want to look at you closer.” Hinata’s nervous gaze slid over to Iwaizumi, who gave Hinata a small nod and floated closer to the throne. Hinata was still wary around the black merman, but knew that he would let no harm come to him. 

Hinata swam up to Oikawa, who raised himself from the throne to inspect the orange mer better. The prince cupped Hinata’s face and turned it side to side, his fingers hovering over the glinting scales around Hinata’s gold eyes. He then inspected the long rope of bright orange hair, exclaiming over the sunny shade. Then he moved lower to explore the tail, running his hands over the slight swell of Hinata’s hips, down to the sensitive and diaphanous fins. 

“Well, you certainly are beautiful. No wonder Tobio-chan is so smitten with you,” Oikawa murmured, pursing his lips. He swam back to his throne, sinking down onto the coral. He threaded his fingers together and rested his hands in his lap. “Well, since you want to go back so badly I just have to convince you to stay.”

“There’s nothing you have that I want,” Hinata declared. 

“I think that I do,” Oikawa smiled, gesturing to a guard at the door. Hinata watched them go with a bewildered look, wondering what he could possibly be getting. Hinata couldn’t imagine anything that Oikawa could have that he would want. The prince started to talk again, causing Hinata to turn back to him. “We found something interesting when we were out on one of our scouting missions a few years ago. It was a little girl, floating in the open ocean. She had serious injuries. We brought her back here and healed her. She told us that she had lost her entire family in an accident.” Oikawa’s eyes flashed to his, “Could you please tell me your name. I believe I missed it.”

“H-Hinata Shouyou,” Hinata stuttered. He heard blood pounding in his ears as he felt false hope rising in his chest. Could Oikawa possibly be talking about what Hinata was hoping for so desperately? 

Oikawa let out a hum, sitting forward in the throne. “Interesting.”

Hinata opened his mouth to ask why that was so interesting when the guard came back, towing someone along with him. Hinata turned and gasped as he saw the tiny mermaid swimming alongside the guard. She had a hold of his hand and was talking non-stop to him, until she caught sight of Hinata. She froze and stared at him with wide eyes.

“Natsu?” Hinata asked uncertainly, afraid that all of this would end and he would wake up. 

The girl’s mouth popped open and her grip tightened on the guard’s hand. “Onii-chan?” she asked with the same uncertainty in her voice.

Hinata nodded fervently and ducked down, holding his arms out to his little sister. Natsu rushed forward into Hinata’s embrace and the two held each other for several long moments. 

“I thought you were gone,” Hinata cried, tears spilling over as he fully realized that he was holding his baby sister, the one he thought had been dead for these past few years. 

“I thought you were gone, too,” Natsu sniffled, at that moment better at hiding her emotions than her big brother. But she knew that she would be bawling in a few moments. She twisted her small fingers into Hinata’s hair and hid her face in his shoulder as she became overcome with emotions. Hinata felt her tiny body trembling and he held her against   
him. 

“Shouyou and Natsu,” Oikawa murmured. “Orange mer siblings. So incredibly rare.” Oikawa wanted them to stay with him so badly, not only for their safety, but for the prestige that the orange mer siblings would bring to the clan. “Natsu has been living with us since we found her. We saved her,” Oikawa said, causing the siblings to look up at him with their golden eyes. It was a bit unnerving. “If you agree to live here, then you can stay with her. Think about it.”

Oikawa swam away then, Iwaizumi following close behind. The Hinata siblings continued to hug each other and catch up on what had happened in their lives since they had last seen each other. 

“Can’t you just let them go?” Iwaizumi asked as the prince floated into his room. He sat down on a stool and started to brush out his long, brown locks.

“I don’t want to. If I let them go, then they’ll go back to Kageyama and he’ll be the one with the orange mers!” Oikawa pouted, brushing his hair more roughly. 

Iwaizumi shook his head at Oikawa’s childish behavior. He grabbed the brush from Oikawa’s hand and started to gently brush the prince’s hair. His other hand wandered over Oikawa’s bare shoulders and dipped down to his chest. Oikawa shivered when Iwaizumi leaned down and nipped at his ear, whispering into it. “You won’t even let them go for me?” Iwaizumi’s fingers circled lightly around one of Oikawa’s nipples, causing the prince to shudder. 

“N-no, I want them!” Oikawa said, wishing that Iwaizumi would add more pressure to his touch.

“Too bad then,” Iwaizumi said, removing his hands from Oikawa. The prince turned around, shocked. “I won’t touch you until you let the two of them go.” He then swam out of the room, Oikawa throwing his hair brush after him.

“Ruuude!” Oikawa yelled after the black merman.

***

“Tobio-chan! How nice of you to visit! This is just so unexpected!” Oikawa sang as the dark blue merprince glowered at him. He had brought his childhood friends, Daichi and Suga, along with him. 

“I’m not here to visit. I’m here to see if you know anything about a certain mer who has gone missing,” Kageyama declared, crossing his arms across his chest. 

“A missing mer,” Oikawa mused, flicking his tail out. “What does this missing mer look like, to be exact?”

“He’s an orange mer. It’s kinda hard to miss him,” Kageyama said, becoming more agitated by Oikawa’s skirting of the issue at hand. 

“An orange merman! How extraordinary!” Oikawa exclaimed, ignoring Iwaizumi’s surreptitious slap. “I’ve never seen one before. When you find him, do visit with him.”

Right then, loud giggles were heard echoing through the halls. The three mers from Karasuno watched on in shock when a young mer rushed in and swam right up to Oikawa like it was nothing. Oikawa gave them an awkward smile because right in front of him was an orange mermaid. Kageyama raised an eyebrow and gave Oikawa an unimpressed look.

“So you’ve never seen an orange mer before, huh?” Kageyama asked. 

“I did say a merman,” Oikawa said, cursing his luck when Hinata swam in after his little sister.

“Natsu! Don’t swim away like that!” Hinata said, hurrying to the throne and scooping Natsu into his arms. 

“Oh! Look! An orange merman!” Oikawa exclaimed in fake-surprise, clearly not fooling anyone.

“Why are you talking like that? You knew I was here,” Hinata said.

“We have visitors, Hinata,” Iwaizumi said, gesturing to the three behind them. Hinata turned and then squeezed Natsu to him tightly. He knew the three mermen well and found himself swimming forward without realizing it.

“Kageyama,” Hinata breathed out. He had truly feared that he would never see the dark-haired prince again.

“Hinata!” Kageyama exclaimed, embracing the orange mer, and squishing the smaller one between them. “You’re okay! I was so worried when you disappeared!” Natsu cleared her throat and Kageyama reluctantly removed his arms. He finally took in the young mermaid, seeing that she looked exactly like Hinata. “L-love child?” Kageyama asked uncertainly, his eyes glancing at Oikawa, who was smirking at him.

“What? No! This is my sister, Natsu!” Hinata yelled, blushing. “How would we even have had a child in a day?”

“I don’t know! But Oikawa would’ve figured it out just to spite me!” Kageyama exclaimed. He blinked, “Wait, sister? The one you thought had died?”

“Yep! This is Natsu!” Hinata said, proudly holding the tiny Hinata-look-alike up. “Natsu, this is Kageyama!”

Natsu gave Kageyama a distrusting look, puffing her cheeks out just like Hinata did. Kageyama thought it was the cutest thing ever. Kageyama stuck his hand out and said, “Nice to meet you.” Natsu looked at her brother, who gave her an encouraging smile. She then grasped the ends of Kageyama’s fingers and shook them.

“What a lovely reunion,” Oikawa said dryly, interrupting them. 

“You lied to me,” Kageyama responded darkly. “You knew both of them were here and didn’t say anything.”

“Of course I didn’t. I want them to stay with me. Why would I tell you about them?” Oikawa asked, shrugging his shoulders. 

“You w-want them?” Kageyama asked, his arm sliding around Hinata’s shoulders and pulling him closer. There was no way that he would let Oikawa have Hinata. He wouldn’t let anyone have him. 

“Why do you want them?” Suga asked, being the act of reason. 

“Because I want orange mers in my court. That’s why. I’ll finally be the best! Two rare orange mers who are siblings!” Oikawa cheered. 

“They’re not possessions to be showed off!” Kageyama growled. 

“Oh, and what were you going to do with dear little Shouyou there?” Oikawa asked, leering at the dark prince. 

“He’s going to be my mate,” Kageyama said. “And not because he was kidnapped and brought to my home. But because we fell in love.”

“That’s touching,” Oikawa said, rolling his eyes and sitting back in his throne. He regarded the mers in front of him. “I did give Hinata a choice you know. He can go back to you,” he started, causing Kageyama’s shoulders to relax. “If he leaves his sister here with me.”

“What?!” Kageyama barked.

“That’s utterly ridiculous!” Suga protested. “They just found each other again.”

“You can’t separate them!” Daichi added. 

“I FOUND NATSU! I SAVED HER! YOU CAN’T JUST TAKE HER AWAY FROM ME!” Oikawa bellowed, rising up from his throne. Iwaizumi tried to calm him down, but Oikawa slapped his hand away. “You can’t take her,” Oikawa repeated, his voice weaker. “I’ve become too attached to her.”

Hinata felt his heart throb. He knew what it was like to have Natsu taken away from him. But he was her brother and he didn’t want to separate from her. He had missed too much of her life already. But he didn’t want to leave Kageyama either. But deep down in his heart, he knew that he would always choose his family. Natsu was all he had left. 

He turned to Kageyama, who was gripping onto him like he would never, ever let go. But he had to. “Kageyama, I can’t leave Natsu.”

“Hinata, no!” Kageyama gasped, clinging on tighter. “I can’t live without you. You were the one that saved me. I need you!”

“You’re going to be just fine. You have Suga and Daichi to watch over you,” Hinata said, his eyes tearing up. “And you can go to the surface all by yourself!” He cupped one of Kageyama’s cheeks with one hand, while the other arm had a secure hold of his baby sister. “You can do so much more than you believe you can, Kageyama. And I’m incredibly   
proud of you!”

“It’s not enough!” Kageyama protested, clutching onto Hinata’s hand desperately, trying to get Hinata back. “I love Suga and Daichi, but you were the one that brought me out of my shell and changed me. Don’t go. Please.”

Hinata hid his face in Kageyama’s shoulder, feeling his tears escape his eyes. He didn’t want anyone else to see him cry. 

Right then, Natsu wriggled free from Hinata’s embrace. 

“Natsu!” Hinata cried out, reaching out for his sister, only to have her evade his grasp. She swam right up to Oikawa, who looked ecstatic that she was swimming back to him. He held his arms up to hug her, but she whacked him in the head, shocking everyone into silence. 

“Bad Tooru-chan! You made Onii-chan cry!” she said, putting her hands on her hips sassily. 

“Natsu, you hit me,” Oikawa murmured, shell-shocked.

“I want to go with Onii-chan,” Natsu continued, ignoring Oikawa. She had learned that tactic from Iwaizumi. She grasped Oikawa’s face in her hands and smushed his cheeks. “But that doesn’t mean that I won’t come to visit you.”

Oikawa’s bottom lip quivered and he embraced Natsu, who hugged him back. After a few moments, Iwaizumi swam over to them and rested a hand on Oikawa’s back.

“It’s time, Oikawa,” he murmured softly.

“Just a bit longer,” Oikawa said, curling around Natsu. He then let her go. “Tobio-chan, come take her.” Kageyama swam to the throne and took the miniature Hinata into his arms. Oikawa pointed a finger at Kageyama. “You better come back and visit though. Every weekend.”

“We will,” Kageyama promised.

Oikawa spun around so he wouldn’t have to see them leave. “I won’t forget.”

Oikawa didn’t say anything else and Kageyama swam back down to Hinata and wrapped an arm around his slender waist. The five of them started to leave the great hall.

“Bye-bye, Tooru-chan!” Natsu called, waving to Oikawa. 

“Oikawa,” Iwaizumi said softly, wanting the prince to turn around and wave back to her. 

“I can’t. Help me,” Oikawa said softly. Iwaizumi gently grasped his shoulders and turned him around. Oikawa gasped when he saw Natsu’s bright and smiling face. He waved back at her, which caused her to beam happily. Then they were out of sight. Oikawa collapsed into Iwaizumi’s arms.

“She’s gone,” Oikawa said sadly. 

“She’ll be back,” Iwaizumi said, lifting the mer prince into his arms and carrying him to his bedroom.

***

The band of five made it back safely to Karasuno and everyone rejoiced, especially at the cute edition to the clan. The queen was immediately taken with the small ray of sun and swept her up in her arms, telling the young mer to call her grandma. 

Hinata blushed, “She’s not my love child.”

Kageyama kissed his temple, “Don’t mind my mother. She’s just always wanted grandchildren and Natsu is the closest thing she has right now.”

Many mers of Karasuno wanted to hear the story of what had happened. Daichi held them off while Suga shooed Kageyama and Hinata away. 

“You two look exhausted. Daichi and I will tell everyone what happened, so you two get some rest,” he said, winking at them. He also knew that they needed some time to be alone after that harrowing ordeal. 

“Thanks, Suga,” Kageyama said, looping his arm through Hinata’s and leading the orange merman away from the crowd. They swam to Hinata’s room, not saying much, just enjoying each other’s company. When they reached the doorway, they stopped and stared at each other, eyes travelling over their features. Hinata felt the seaweed door covering brushing against his tail as it swayed in the current.

“Thanks for coming to get me,” Hinata said, reaching up and cupping the back of Kageyama’s head. He tugged the prince towards him until their lips brushed. Kageyama was expecting a light and sweet kiss, like they had stuck with so far, but Hinata immediately deepened the kiss, curling his fingers into Kageyama’s long hair and shifting closer until their chests touched. Kageyama’s hands gripped onto Hinata’s waist as the orange merman began to lick his lips, wanting entrance. Kageyama groaned and opened his lips, feeling Hinata’s hot tongue push inside, licking the top of his mouth and running along his teeth.

One of Kageyama’s hands circled around Hinata’s slim waist while the other travelled up his back, caressing his soft skin. He tugged Hinata closer to him until their bodies were flush against one another. Hinata trembled as Kageyama began to take control of the kiss, dipping Hinata’s head back and devouring him. Hinata gasped when he felt Kageyama’s tongue in his mouth, inexperienced, but still pleasurable. Kageyama’s nose bumped into his a few times until the prince got the angle correct, deepening the kiss further. Hinata felt like he was going to float away in a current of bubbles as Kageyama continued to ravish his mouth.

They made-out in the hallway for a few more minutes, tiny moans escaping from their mouths. Anyone who rounded the corner, quickly backed away, not wanting to interrupt the passionate couple.

Kageyama withdrew, pressing a few more kisses to Hinata’s swollen lips. “I missed you.”

“I missed you, too,” Hinata panted, looking up at Kageyama with glazed-over eyes. 

“I-I have to go now,” Kageyama said hesitantly, slowly drawing his hands away from Hinata’s lithe body. 

“I’ll see you later?” Hinata asked hopefully.

“Of course,” Kageyama answered, giving Hinata one more deep kiss before swimming away. Hinata swam through his seaweed door and sank down onto the floor, trying to keep down his happy giggles and crazy blushing. 

Later that night, when Natsu was put to bed and sleeping soundly, Hinata snuck out of his room in search of someone in particular. He had something important to say and he had to say it right then. He found her pacing in the grand hall, muttering under her breath about preparations for a meeting.

“Oh, Hinata! Couldn’t sleep?” the queen asked as soon as she spotted Hinata. She stopped her pacing and swam towards him. 

“Can I talk to you about something?” he asked, biting his lower lip.

“Of course you can! You know you can talk to me about anything!” the queen said, leading them over to a coral shelf so that they could sit and talk. She took Hinata’s small hands into hers and squeezed them reassuringly. “Now, what is it?”

Hinata blushed and the queen bit back a giggle. The orange merman was honestly too cute. “I wanted to know if. . . I could still be Kageyama’s mate.” He lowered his eyes, embarrassed and nervous. He knew that the queen had a lot of influence over who the prince’s mate would be. Hinata had been brought here for that exact reason, but the queen could always change her mind.

A tender smile formed on the queen’s face as she saw the tiny merman fidgeting in front of her. She let go of one of Hinata’s hands and tipped his face up. “You’re not doing this because of all the times he saved you? Just because he can protect you?”

Hinata shook his head. “No, but it does help,” he said, letting out a small laugh. He became serious almost instantaneously. “It’s so much more than just being protected. I want to be his mate because I love him. I want to spend the rest of our lives together. For most of my life, I’ve been running. I never thought that I would find a love like this. And for the first time in a long time, I want to stay somewhere. And I want it to be with Kageyama. Because of Kageyama.”

The queen’s smile grew and she felt her eyes tearing up. She was so happy that Kageyama had found someone to love. Someone to be himself with. And she was so glad that it was Hinata. They were perfect for each other. It was obvious that they belonged together.

“Of course you can be his mate,” the queen said, cupping her future son-in-law’s face. Hinata took it one step farther and hugged her. The queen was surprised, but then melted into the hug, embracing the merman back. It felt like there was a real family back in the castle and not just a hollow, broken one. Hinata had come and had filled the castle and her son with joy. “I’ll immediately start planning for the mating ceremony.”

Hinata squeezed her before letting her go. “Can I call you mother?”

The queen gasped, putting a hand to her mouth. She realized how important that was to Hinata, who had lost both of his parents. She was the closest thing to a parent that he had had since then. “You can. Can I call you Shouyou?” Hinata nodded brightly, giving the queen another hug. Hinata felt like his heart was overflowing with emotions. He had his sister, a new mother, and a future mate. For someone who had been alone for so long, he was suddenly surrounded by family and loved ones. 

“I’ll tell Kageyama tomorrow,” Hinata said.

The queen smiled and nodded. “You go back to bed and get some sleep now.”

“Okay, see you tomorrow,” Hinata said, swimming back to his room. The queen immediately bustled around the room, gathering supplies to start planning for the ceremony. She hummed while she worked, brimming with happiness.

She looked up towards the ceiling. “You would’ve been so proud of him,” she murmured, clutching onto the necklace that her husband had given her so many years ago.

***

It was the day of the mating ceremony and everyone in the clan was present, including members of other clans. Kuroo and Kenma were there, along with other friends of Hinata’s. Iwaizumi was there, Oikawa sitting beside him with Natsu in his lap. Kageyama made sure to visit every weekend with Natsu. If he was too busy, he would send Daichi. Natsu was still a huge fan of Oikawa’s and would race up to him with a huge smile on her face. The first time this happened, it was the first time that Kageyama had seen such a happy expression on Oikawa’s face. His cool exterior broke down as he laughed and spun the tiny orange mermaid around. Iwaizumi watched on with a pleasant expression on his face. 

“Nervous?” Daichi asked Kageyama as the queen bustled around him, trying to do the prince’s hair. 

Kageyama gave him a shaky smile. “Is it that obvious?” He tried to run a hand through his hair, but his mother slapped it away so that he wouldn’t mess up the masterpiece that she had made. She had placed a crown of dark purple shells onto his head and had then braided in smaller shells and pearls into his hair that were a light purple so that they would stand out against the black. 

“It kind of is,” Daichi chuckled. He had remembered acting that way on the day that he and Suga had mated. He had been so excited and nervous that he felt like he would throw up. But he hadn’t, and he and Suga were happily together and in love. 

Suga swam in then, causing Daichi to blush since he had been thinking of the silver mer. “Hinata is ready. Is Kageyama?” Suga asked. The silver merman had been in charge of getting Hinata ready. 

“You ready, Tobio?” the queen asked, taking her son’s hand and pulling him up from the stool. Her son looked down at her with a vulnerable, but excited look. She tucked in a loose strand of hair and pressed a kiss to his forehead. “I’m so proud of you, baby. Now, let’s not keep Shouyou waiting.”

“Right,” Kageyama said, taking his mother’s arm as they swam out of his room. He remembered when Hinata told him that they were going to be mated. Kageyama had just woken up, his eyes fluttering open, only to be met with the bright, beautiful smile of his beloved. Kageyama smiled and pulled Hinata down to him to give him a sleepy kiss. 

“I have something to tell you,” Hinata murmured after Kageyama had pulled away.

“Hmmm?” Kageyama hummed, skimming his hands lazily through Hinata’s hair.

Hinata leaned down and rubbed his nose against Kageyama’s, giving him an eskimo kiss. “We’re going to be mates.”

Kageyama’s eyes popped open and he shot up, smacking his forehead against Hinata’s. They both groaned in pain and clutched onto their heads. 

“Owww,” Hinata moaned, rubbing the red spot on his forehead. 

“What did you say?” Kageyama asked, wanting to make sure he had heard what he thought he had heard.

“Ow?” Hinata asked, confused after being hit in the head.

“No, before that, dumbass,” Kageyama said. 

Instead of getting mad, Hinata smiled and looped his arms around Kageyama’s neck. “We’re going to be mates.”

“For real?” Kageyama asked breathlessly, his eyes searching gorgeous golden ones.

“Yes, for real,” Hinata said, leaning in and giving the prince a peck on the lips. Kageyama had grasped the orange mer and deepened the kiss, not willing to let him go yet after hearing the wonderful news. 

“Okay, wait here, Kageyama. I’m going to go get Hinata,” Suga said, drawing Kageyama back to the present. Suga disappeared around the corner and Kageyama tightened his hold on his mother’s arm. She patted his arm reassuringly, understanding how nervous he was. From this day on, he was going to be bound to Hinata. It was daunting and thrilling at the same time. 

The queen glanced behind her and saw Suga coming back with Hinata. That was her cue to take Kageyama out. She led Kageyama out and they circled around the grand hall so that everyone could see them. Everyone bowed when they passed. In Karasuno, they usually forewent such things, except on important days and events. They ended up in front of the dais, facing away from the entrance they had just come in. The queen kissed Kageyama’s cheek and then moved to face him. 

Then Hinata entered and everyone gasped. Kageyama itched to turn around to see him, but knew that he couldn’t yet. He waited while Suga led Hinata around the room, finally ending up next to Kageyama. The prince felt Hinata’s hand slide into his and Kageyama gripped onto it. They were in this together and would always be from now on. 

“You may face each other,” the queen said. 

Kageyama and Hinata faced each other, automatically reaching for each other’s other hand. Kageyama felt the world slow down and stop completely as he saw Hinata smiling prettily at him through his golden lashes. He was wearing the white and yellow-shelled tiara that Kageyama had made him, and like Kageyama, had white shells and pearls braided into his hair. He was absolutely stunning and Kageyama truly believed that he was hundred percent more beautiful than the sun could ever be. Kageyama felt his nerves wash away as he gazed at Hinata, who beamed back at him. 

The queen was talking, but Kageyama completely tuned her out, focusing completely on his soon-to-be mate. The crowd clapped, but it got washed away in the background as Kageyama and Hinata smiled at each other. 

Apparently Hinata was listening to whatever the queen was saying because he glanced at her and gave her a smile. When Hinata looked back at Kageyama, the prince saw a tear sliding down his cheek. Kageyama reached out and wiped it away.

“Tobio,” the queen whispered loudly, trying to get her son’s attention.

“Huh?” Kageyama asked unintelligently, turning his head to look at her. 

She sighed, “I knew you weren’t listening. It’s time for you to bond.”

“O-oh,” Kageyama stuttered. Hinata giggled and squeezed Kageyama’s hands to get his attention.

“Let’s go,” Hinata said, looking up. Mating ceremonies were always held in the grand hall because it had the highest ceiling. The mer couple would swim to the top and wrap their tails together and then spin back down to the floor while everyone watched, witnessing the union. 

Kageyama and Hinata swam up to the ceiling, watching as the crowd got smaller and smaller. They were completely alone at the top of the room, everyone watching them from the bottom.

“Nervous?” Hinata asked.

“Yep,” Kageyama responded, swimming closer to Hinata so that they were sharing the same space.

“Ready?” Hinata breathed out softly, letting his tail wrap sensually around Kageyama’s.

“Always,” Kageyama said, enfolding the slender merman in his arms and bringing their bodies together. 

They started to spin slowly back down to the floor. Kageyama tightened his tail’s hold and as they continued to twist through the water, they couldn’t tell whose body was whose. Kageyama was Hinata and Hinata was Kageyama. They were one. Hinata was so close that Kageyama could see the flecks of gold in the scales framing his eyes and the light spackling of freckles from the past few times they had gone to the surface. 

Kageyama felt Hinata lightly tug on his hair. “I love you,” he said as they got closer to the spectators. 

“Me too. I love you,” Kageyama said. He snuck in a kiss and saw Hinata return a secretive smile. They were still too far up for anyone to see exactly what they were doing.   
They really weren’t supposed to kiss until they returned to the floor, but Kageyama didn’t want to wait, and it appeared that Hinata didn’t either. He even blew a kiss to Kageyama and winked at him, causing Kageyama to laugh. Hinata could feel Kageyama’s body shaking against and around his. 

As they neared the ocean floor, they could hear the crowd’s awed gasps. They must’ve really made a sight: dark, inky blue wrapped tightly with bright, sunny orange. Their hair fluttered around them, surrounding them. A bit of Hinata’s hair floated in front of his face and Kageyama saw his face through a cloud of orange, gold, and white. No words could describe how lovely and angelic Hinata was at that moment. The strands drifted away, seeming to frame Hinata’s face in pure sunlight. Kageyama wondered if Hinata was experiencing the same feelings as he saw the loving and awed expression that Hinata was giving him. Kageyama wondered if his hair was surrounding him in a mass of black and purple, framing his pale skin and bright blue eyes. 

They finally reached the bottom and everyone cheered, rejoicing the fact that their prince was mated, and to such a wonderful and delightful mer. Everyone hoped that they would be happy and prosperous and bring even more joy to Karasuno. Kageyama and Hinata were congratulated and the queen tackled them in a hug, causing everyone to laugh and cheer again. Everyone was in a wonderful mood and they carried that on throughout the night. 

“It’s time,” the queen said, giving the two a knowing smile, which caused the two to blush and look away from her. 

“Mother, don’t say that,” Kageyama said.

“What? Why not?” she pouted.

“Because you’re my mother!” he responded, his ears turning red.

She chuckled, “No matter. It’s still time.” She made an announcement and everyone parted so that Kageyama and Hinata could swim through. It was their official first night together. It was customary for a newly mated couple to spend their first night outside in the ocean to celebrate all that the ocean had provided for them. The rest of the clan usually stayed in the castle, giving the new couples free reign of the territory. Couples usually swam out farther though, just in case. 

Kageyama held his hand out for Hinata to take. They swam out of the castle and into the ocean, the water darker now that it was nighttime. They swam away hand-in-hand, ready to start their new life together.

***

“Kageyama-aah,” Hinata’s voice hitched as Kageyama’s hands ran over his torso. Hinata was sitting on the sand, his tail wrapped demurely to the side. Kageyama was laying in the sand behind him, licking his skin and gently nipping at him. His hands were running up and down his front, brushing his stomach and grazing his nipples. Hinata’s back arched when Kageyama rolled a pink nipple between his fingers, before letting go and leaving Hinata panting and feeling like he was being teased. 

The two had swam out near the edge of Karasuno in a large forest of seaweed. Even though nobody would come near them, the seaweed gave them a sense of privacy that they needed at that moment. As soon as they got there, Kageyama had caught Hinata in a deep, ravishing kiss, ready to mate with the orange mer. 

Hinata trembled when he felt Kageyama shift, licking a stripe up his spine. His hands followed with him, rubbing up his body and tweaking both of his nipples. The orange merman cried out as the prince rolled his nipples and gently bit the spot where his neck and shoulder met.

“Tobio,” Kageyama corrected, wanting to hear Hinata say his first name. 

Kageyama’s hands ran back down, fingers circling where Hinata’s skin met his scales. Kageyama could already tell that Hinata was wet. There was a shiny liquid oozing out of where his dick was currently stored. Kageyama couldn’t wait to dip his fingers in there, releasing his mate’s dick. But first, he wanted to enjoy the mer’s beautiful body more thoroughly. 

“Tobio,” Hinata sighed, reaching back so that he could grip onto Kageyama’s long hair. Their hair ornaments had long ago been removed so that they could run their fingers through each other’s hair. Kageyama sucked on Hinata’s neck, leaving marks that would later be visible. Hinata’s grip tightened in Kageyama’s hair when the prince nibbled teasingly on his neck before biting down. 

Once Kageyama had littered Hinata’s neck, shoulders, and back with marks, he swam around to Hinata’s front. The orange mer’s eyes were glazed over, giving Kageyama a heated look through heavy-lidded eyes. Hinata held his arms out for his mate and Kageyama floated into them, knocking Hinata back so that he was splayed out on the soft sand. His hair surrounded his head like a halo, adding to his ethereal beauty. 

“So beautiful,” Kageyama said, kissing Hinata deeply, licking into the mer’s mouth and sucking on his tongue. Hinata raked his nails down Kageyama’s back, leaving his own marks to prove to others that the prince was his. Kageyama just groaned into his mouth, finding the pain pleasurable. 

Kageyama’s mouth travelled along Hinata’s jaw, down his slender neck, to dainty clavicles, and finally to the delicious pink nipples that were practically taunting Kageyama’s senses. Usually he never paid any attention to Hinata’s nipples, but right now it was like they were screaming to be taken into his mouth. And he was not one to disappoint. He flicked his tongue out at Hinata’s nipples, gaging the mer’s reaction. Hinata sucked in a breath, his hands locking into Kageyama’s long locks. The prince lapped at his nipple more thoroughly, pinching the other one until it turned a darker pink. Hinata writhed on the ocean floor as Kageyama continued to lick at his nipples. He wanted more contact. Kageyama was taking his sweet time while Hinata was aching for more. The orange mer could tell he was soaking, his essence rubbing onto Kageyama where they were pressed together. 

“Shouyou,” Kageyama murmured lovingly before finally sucking the mer’s nipple into his mouth. Hinata moaned, his back arching and his grip keeping Kageyama’s head in place. 

“T-Tobio, ah! Feels, ah, good!” Hinata panted, caressing Kageyama’s hair unconsciously as Kageyama continued to lave attention on his nipples, even biting down on them. After Hinata’s nipples were swollen and a rosy red color, Kageyama moved downwards, stroking the soft skin of Hinata’s waist. Kageyama placed tender kisses on Hinata’s stomach, his tongue delving into the mer’s bellybutton. 

Hinata was a shivering mess before Kageyama even got to the place that was demanding attention. The prince licked his lips as he saw shiny liquid pouring from where his dick was and his entrance. Kageyama caressed his fingers lovingly over Hinata’s entrance, causing Hinata to lift his hips. 

“Soon, darling,” Kageyama promised, his fingers sliding up to the other slit. He split it and watched in fascination as Hinata’s dick popped free, his pre-cum forming and floating off into the ocean. Hinata whimpered as he felt the ocean current caress his aching dick. His needy feeling was not abated either when Kageyama was looking hungrily at his dick. 

“Tobio, touch me, please,” Hinata begged, wriggling his hips, his dick bouncing up and down with the motion. Kageyama broke out of his trance so that he could please his mate. He reached out with a trembling hand and wrapped his fingers around Hinata’s dick. The orange mer’s breathing became heavier as he felt the gentle pressure on his dick.   
The pleasure was almost unbearable, and Kageyama only had him in a loose grip.

Before Kageyama even moved his hand, Hinata spotted that the other mer was also soaking wet, the shiny liquid dripping down his tail. Hinata pushed Kageyama away slightly, gesturing to the prince’s own aching parts. 

“Let me touch you also,” Hinata said. He didn’t just want this to be about him. And so far Kageyama had been the one doing all the touching. The prince paused and then moved back, removing his hand from Hinata. The orange mer bit his lower lip when Kageyama opened his slit, letting his dick free. Kageyama was much larger than him and Hinata moaned just thinking about that inside of him, filling him up. He felt himself tighten from the thought. 

“Can I touch it?” Hinata asked almost reverently, eyes glued to the large member. Kageyama grabbed his hand and moved it to his dick, letting out a low moan when he felt the small fingers wrap around him. Hinata started to slowly stroke the long length, going from the root to the top, rubbing his thumb over the tip. Kageyama shuddered in pleasure, then remembered that he was supposed to be paying attention to Hinata. He reached out and rewrapped his fingers around Hinata. Kageyama leaned his forehead against Hinata’s, feeling the orange mer pant against his face. Both of them quickened their strokes, experimenting with hand position and pressure. Hinata discovered that Kageyama liked a grinding motion at the bottom and Kageyama discovered that Hinata had a very sensitive tip. He had practically screamed when the prince had brushed his thumb over it.

Hinata tipped his head up, connecting his lips with Kageyama’s. The orange mer bit down on the prince’s bottom lip when he twisted his wrist, changing the position of his hand on his dick. Kageyama lapped up Hinata’s moans and cries, returning them with his own, deeper ones. 

“Tobio, more. I want, ah, more,” Hinata said, even as he added more pressure to his own hold on Kageyama. “Inside me.”

Kageyama took the message and let go of Hinata’s dick. His fingers travelled down to his entrance and dipped inside. One finger easily slid inside, then two. Hinata had thrown an arm over his face, breathing heavily as Kageyama opened him up. Kageyama’s fingers were so long and reached far into him. Kageyama pushed another finger inside of him and Hinata let out a grunt. The third finger burned, but he easily got distracted by Kageyama kissing and nipping his lips. 

Hinata could feel himself being filled with Kageyama’s fingers and his own eyes roamed down to Kageyama’s glistening entrance. He wanted to pleasure Kageyama too, even though he knew that Kageyama would be entering him this time. Hinata ran curious fingers down Kageyama’s torso and orbited one around the prince’s entrance. Kageyama held his breath when he felt his mate circle his entrance, wondering if the orange mer would push one inside. He didn’t have to wonder for long before Hinata was tentatively thrusting a finger inside of Kageyama and rubbing the most sensitive place on his body. 

Kageyama let out a shuddering breath as he felt Hinata moving inside of him. He quickened his own thrusts, delving his fingers deep inside of the mer and causing him to open his mouth in a loud cry. 

“Tobiooo,” Hinata whimpered, bucking his hips. “Hurry, hurry.”

Kageyama didn’t think he could take anymore. He removed his fingers from Hinata, leaving the small mer feeling empty. Hinata let his own finger slip out as he saw Kageyama stroking his dick, the prince’s fiery gaze glued to Hinata’s erotic expression. 

Kageyama lined his dick up at Hinata’s entrance, watching at his mate took in a deep breath. “I’m going to enter you now, Shouyou.” Hinata gave him an encouraging smile and then Kageyama was pushing into him. His head popped inside and Hinata let out a moan that was both from pleasure and pain. It burned, but it felt amazing. Kageyama paused, letting Hinata adjust to that before pushing in even more. Hinata felt every inch that entered him, spreading him open and filling him. Kageyama let out a guttural groan when he was fully seated inside of the orange mer. Hinata was so, so hot and tight that Kageyama was worried that he would come right then and there. Kageyama took in a few deep breaths to calm himself down.

Meanwhile, Hinata was in awe of how big Kageyama was. Whenever he moved slightly, he could feel Kageyama. He seemed to fill every inch of Hinata.

Kageyama kissed away tears that were trailing down Hinata’s face. He gently brushed Hinata’s check with his thumb. “Does it hurt?”

Hinata shook his head, “Not much. I’m just trying to get used to it. You’re really big.”

Kageyama ducked his head, “Sorry.”

Hinata cupped his face and kissed him. “I’m not saying it’s a bad thing,” he giggled naughtily. Kageyama rolled his eyes and nipped at Hinata’s nose before kissing him fully on the lips. Hinata got lost in the kiss and the twist of Kageyama’s tongue in his mouth. He didn’t even realize that Kageyama started to move until he felt the heavy drag of Kageyama’s dick slowly pulling out of him. Hinata moaned when Kageyama thrusted back inside of him, filling him once again, but then he was moving back out, then in.

Hinata pulled his lips away, breathing too heavily at that moment to be involved in a kiss. He didn’t think he would be able to concentrate on reciprocating either. The movements of Kageyama’s plump dick going in and out of him were completely taking over his senses. 

“T-ah, Tobio. Feels, aah, so good!” Hinata said as Kageyama picked up his pace. 

The prince felt unbelievably good. Every now and then, Hinata would clamp down on him and it made Kageyama feel like his spine would melt from the pleasure. Kageyama felt even hotter when he looked down at Hinata’s face. His eyes were closed and his mouth was open and panting. His face and chest were flushed red and Kageyama thought it was undeniably pretty. Kageyama picked up his pace, trying to thrust in deeper, watching as Hinata’s back arched and his head tipped back, crying out the prince’s name. 

“Shouyou, Shouyou,” Kageyama grunted, suddenly changing the angle. He knew he had made a good choice when Hinata’s eyes flew open and his hands were scrambling for purchase in the sand. His moans became louder and higher-pitched and he tightened up so deliciously on Kageyama.

“There!” Hinata gasped. “Right there!”

Kageyama complied, continuing to hit Hinata’s sweet spot, causing the orange mer to completely lose his mind. Hinata moved his hands and curled them into Kageyama’s hair, tugging on it whenever he felt like he would totally lose it. 

Kageyama felt the current flowing past him and he glanced up, watching as the seaweed waved around, looking mesmerizing. Kageyama suddenly wanted to make love to Hinata while floating in the ocean, rather than against the ocean floor. 

“Shouyou, I want to try something,” Kageyama said, trying to pull Hinata out of his reverie. 

“Huh? What?” Hinata asked, wanting Kageyama to continue moving. He felt like he was so close. If only Kageyama would move!

Kageyama leaned down, his steamy gaze causing Hinata to forget what he had been thinking about. “I want to fuck you in the ocean’s current,” he murmured huskily. 

Hinata swallowed, feeling himself heat up even more. “Whoa,” he said, amazed at how sexy Kageyama looked. “Ok, let’s do it.”

Kageyama carefully pulled out, watching Hinata wince. He helped Hinata up and they floated in the current, twirling ever so slightly in the forest of seaweed. Kageyama wrapped his arms around Hinata and kissed his already swollen lips. He ran his hands down his back to the swell of his tail. He could feel Hinata’s dick against his stomach, rubbing his pre-cum against him. 

“Enter me,” Hinata said against Kageyama’s lips. 

“Love you,” Kageyama answered as he pushed back inside Hinata’s incredible heat. Hinata’s breath hitched as he felt Kageyama filling him once again, sliding in easier than last time. “You feel so amazing.”

Hinata chuckled, tenderly trailing his fingers along Kageyama’s back. “Well, I think you feel amazing.” Hinata pressed some light kisses to Kageyama’s jaw, trailing them up to his ear, where he nibbled on the lobe. “You know what would be even more amazing?” he whispered hotly in Kageyama’s ear. “If you would move.”

Kageyama felt himself grow even harder and Hinata bit back a groan when he felt Kageyama grow larger inside of him. “That does sound like a good idea,” Kageyama rasped back, jolting his hips back before thrusting back inside Hinata. 

The ocean current spun them around in the water. Seaweed brushed against their tails and backs, feeling like gentle caresses. Not that they noticed much. Kageyama had a tight grip on Hinata’s backside, thrusting vigorously into his mate. Hinata was returning his thrusts, crying out whenever Kageyama brushed against his sweet spot. He was clawing at the prince’s back again, needing that one thing to ground him. 

“Tobio, ah, Tobio! More! Give me more!” Hinata screamed as he felt himself hovering on the brink of orgasm. Kageyama grabbed Hinata’s dick and stroked it to the same fast pace that his hips were canting. Hinata’s body tensed and he clamped down on Kageyama. His head was thrown back, his hair flying backwards in the water, as he cried out in release. Kageyama watched in a hazy heat as Hinata came, spurting his essence out into the ocean, watching as it floated away and dissipated. The orange mer was still tightening around Kageyama and the prince came, ejaculating inside of his mate. He saw Hinata shudder as he felt Kageyama’s hot seed fill him. Hinata’s entrance spasmed several times, milking Kageyama dry.

The two still twirled around in the seaweed forest, panting and coming down from their highs. Hinata unlatched his nails from Kageyama’s back, knowing that the prince would have scratch marks for a few days. He knew his back didn’t look any better since it was covered in bite marks. But it was proof that they belonged together and that they had consummated their love.

They floated back down to the ocean floor to cuddle in post-coital bliss. Kageyama wrapped his arms around Hinata and pressed kisses to his face. Hinata sighed and snuggled into his hold. 

“That felt amazing,” Hinata murmured.

“Agreed,” Kageyama replied, showering Hinata’s hair in kisses. Hinata turned his face so that Kageyama could kiss his lips instead. They kissed each other lazily, knowing they still had plenty of time until they were expected back at the castle. 

They were silent for a few moments, just enjoying each other’s company when Hinata asked, “What are you thinking about?”

“Just something my dad told me,” he said, twirling his fingers in Hinata’s orange waves.

“And what was that?” Hinata wondered.

“He told me to always think that the sun is beautiful. I think now that I can fully appreciate what he was saying. He was right. The sun is absolutely beautiful. But not the sun   
in the sky,” Kageyama said.

“Not the sun in the sky?” Hinata repeated, confused. Did Kageyama know of another sun?

Kageyama’s grip tightened on Hinata as he brought the mer closer to his chest. “No, because you are far more beautiful than that sun. You are my sun.”

Hinata felt his breath hitch as Kageyama said those words. He turned and saw Kageyama gazing at him with adoration in his eyes. “You must really love me, huh?” Hinata said half-jokingly, still trying to comprehend the magnitude of what Kageyama had said. He was basically saying that Hinata was the light of his life.

“I do,” Kageyama said seriously. “Forever.” He gripped the back of Hinata’s head to seal the promise with a kiss.

***

THE END

***

BONUS SEX SCENE!!! ;)

I couldn’t get this thought out of my head and just decided to write it because I can do what I want!!! Mwahahaha! So here’s an extra steamy scene for you all (and me, definitely me)! Hope you guys like it! ;) ;) ;)

 

Four months into being mates, Kageyama was still thinking about something. It was the middle of the night and he and Hinata were starting to make love, kissing and touching on the floor in their room. Hinata was lying on top of him, ravishing his lips, biting and sucking them until they were swollen and plump. 

“Hey, Shouyou,” Kageyama started.

“Hmmm?” Hinata hummed as he licked his way down Kageyama’s neck.

“I-I want to try something new,” Kageyama started hesitantly.

Hinata immediately stopped and sat up, taking in the change in Kageyama’s voice seriously. The orange mer tucked a strand of hair behind his ear as he looked down at his prince. “Yes?” he asked encouragingly. “What did you want to try?”

Kageyama blushed and averted his eyes. “I want to enter you, while you enter me.” There was complete silence and Kageyama chanced a glance at his mate. Even in the dark he could see how large Hinata’s pupils had grown, aroused at what Kageyama had just suggested.

“I want to!” Hinata volunteered. 

Kageyama smiled, grateful that Hinata didn’t find that idea too weird or repulsive. It actually seemed to make Hinata even more turned on, if the way he was rubbing his body against Kageyama’s was any indication. 

“Okay, then we need to face different directions,” Kageyama said. After that, an awkward entangling of limbs and fins incurred as they tried to get into position. They ended up curled on their sides, fins curled away from each other’s faces so that they wouldn’t accidentally whack each other in the face during the middle of intercourse. 

“I’m going to start stretching you out since this is your first time,” Hinata said, trailing his fingers up Kageyama’s tail to where his entrance was already glistening with his arousal. “Tell me if it hurts, okay, baby?” Kageyama nodded silently. Hinata pushed in the first finger, wriggling it around and thrusting it back and forth gently. It felt weird to Kageyama, but it didn’t hurt. 

Hinata parted Kageyama’s slit, letting his dick spring free. Hinata used his other hand to stroke Kageyama while he added a second finger. Kageyama didn’t seem to mind since Hinata was making sure he was feeling pleasure at the same time. The prince was starting to pant and Hinata felt a slight tightening of Kageyama’s entrance around his fingers. Hinata licked his lips, just imagining what that would feel like around his dick. 

Kageyama decided that it was time he became an active partner and pushed his own finger into Hinata’s entrance. The orange mer paused in his ministrations as he felt his mate entering him with a long, elegant finger. Hinata continued moving his fingers, scissoring Kageyama open just as the prince pushed a second finger into him. They both had two fingers buried into each other and it was incredibly hot. 

Hinata was twisting his hips forward, trying to get Kageyama to enter him deeper. He already wanted more, but knew he had to be patient for his mate. He took special care when he pushed a third finger in, watched as Kageyama tensed up.

“Relax, darling,” Hinata murmured, paying more attention to Kageyama’s dick. The prince added a third finger also, but his thrusts were sloppier than Hinata’s as he started to lose reason. It seemed that Hinata really knew what felt good and soon Kageyama was soaking wet and moaning and whimpering out loud.

“I think you’re ready,” Hinata said, withdrawing his fingers. “You sure you want to do this?” he asked, looking over at Kageyama. The prince opened his eyes and gazed back at Hinata.

“I’m sure. I want to do this with you,” Kageyama responded, withdrawing his own fingers.

“Mmkay, then let’s do this,” Hinata said, drawing their hips closer together. Kageyama was the first to enter since he was longer than Hinata. The orange merman let out a sensual moan when he felt Kageyama entering him, his head spreading him open. All of Kageyama’s head was inside before Hinata even felt himself brush against Kageyama’s entrance. He heard Kageyama take in a surprised breath. Hinata caressed Kageyama’s tail, trying to soothe him. 

“Okay, you can continue,” Kageyama said after he had relaxed. He was glad that Hinata was being so patient with him. He would’ve chickened out if Hinata had just tried to shove his dick inside of him. 

Hinata patted Kageyama’s tail and then lined his dick up with the prince’s entrance, slowly pushing inside. The further he went inside, the deeper Kageyama went. It was an incredibly arousing feeling to be filled at the same time as he was entering Kageyama. He was fucking the prince at the same time that the prince was fucking him. Hinata let out a stuttering groan when he thought that. He dug his nails into Kageyama’s hips to stop himself from ramming up into the tight heat. The prince felt amazing, inside and around   
him. 

Hinata let out a breath when he was fully seated inside of Kageyama. “How does it feel, Tobio?”

Kageyama let out a laugh. “Weird and good at the same time.”

Hinata chuckled back. “That about sums it up.”

“You’re inside me,” Kageyama said, his hand trailing up the orange and gold scales of Hinata’s tail. 

“Yeah, and you’re inside me,” Hinata replied.

“It’s amazing.”

They laid there, caressing each other’s tails as Kageyama adjusted. Then the prince was gripping onto Hinata’s hips and thrusting in and out slowly, feeling himself leave and enter Hinata, but also feeling Hinata’s plump dick moving inside of him, sliding in and out. 

Hinata gasped loudly when he felt Kageyama moving. He clung to Kageyama’s tail, thrusting his own hips and plunging deeply inside of the mer prince. They were quickly losing their wits from the double sensation of entering and being entered. Kageyama knew that he wouldn’t last much longer. Hinata was hitting his sweet spot dead-on and the blue mer was seeing stars. He now knew why Hinata loved being filled so much.

Hinata was thinking much of the same things. Kageyama kept tightening around him, clamping down on his dick. Hinata grinded against his mate, feeling when Kageyama realized what he wanted and started grinding him back. They clung to each other and grinded against each other rough and hard.

“Ah, Shouyou, I don’t know how much longer I’m, aahn, going to last,” Kageyama panted.

“Me either,” Hinata said honestly, tightening on Kageyama’s dick to keep him in place against his sweet spot. A few more thrusts and Hinata was coming deep inside of the prince, tightening down at the same time. That caused Kageyama to come in return, losing his mind when he felt something hot and wet fill him. The prince clamped down on Hinata’s already sensitive dick, causing the orange mer to orgasm a second time. His body spasmed as he had a dry orgasm, all of his seed already inside of Kageyama. 

They laid on the sand, breathing heavily, still buried deep inside of each other. 

“That was. . . wow,” Hinata said.

“Yeah,” Kageyama said, still feeling like he was floating in the clouds.

“Let’s do that again some time,” Hinata said with a devilish smile.

“Definitely,” Kageyama agreed, thoroughly having enjoyed that.

**Author's Note:**

> (*•̀ᴗ•́*)و ̑̑ Yes! Finally finished it! Wow, this took a while to write. I was aiming for like 20,00 words, but then kinda got carried away with the story. lololol. This also turned out completely different than what I had originally been planning. Hinata was just going to randomly be found in the ocean and brought to Kageyama to mate with and they weren't going to like each other and drama would ensue and all of the other characters weren't even going to be in it. But when I started to write, I added Suga and Daichi, and then slowly added everyone else. So, waaaaaay differet than my outline. But I think it turned out better. Y'all can tell me what you think. :D
> 
> Also, bonus sex scene!!! Whooo! Always fun. ;) 
> 
> My tumblr is thecommaqueen1 if y'all want to chat with me. I loove Kudos and Comments. They always make me smile like an idiot. Let's all get hyped up for season 3!!! o(≧∇≦o)o(≧∇≦o)o(≧∇≦o)


End file.
